Delhi Police vacate Shaheen Bagh of CAA protesters

As India remains in a lockdown to check the spread of coronavirus, police today evicted protesters from Shaheen Bagh, the ground zero of the recent agitation against Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) RP Meena told reporters that the people at Shaheen Bagh near Jamia Millia University in South Delhi were requested to vacate the site as lockdown was imposed.

"The protesters consisted of mostly women. However, when they refused, action was taken and they were vacated," he said, reports our Indian correspondent.

Delhi Police had urged the protesters last week to call off their programme.

However, the protesters, who began a sit-in on December 15, four days after Indian parliament passed the CAA, did not comply. The sit-in would continue with "necessary precautions" against Covid-19, they had said.

The police action came a couple of days after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced the lockdown of the Indian capital as part of the imposition of countrywide restrictions in fight against coronavirus.

"Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures," he had tweeted.

The national capital – which has reported over 30 coronavirus cases, including one death – has shut public transport, sealed its borders and closed shops, allowing in only the essential items.

Across India, over 470 cases have been reported, including nine deaths. Thirty states and union territories are under complete lockdown.

The Shaheen Bagh protest was against CAA, National Register of Citizen and National Population Register that the protesters deem "anti-Muslim".

The Indian government maintains CAA will not take away any one's citizenship and help persecuted religious minorities from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.