Coronavirus: Shaheen Bagh protest site cleared

Protesters at the iconic anti-CAA agitation site in south-east Delhi's Shaheen Bagh were removed from the spot 101 days after they started their protest, amid the lock-down in the national capital to contain the spread of Covid-19.

Nine persons, including six women, who were continuing the protest at the site were detained by the police at 7:30 AM while tents where they were sitting dismantled.

Similar protests in Hauz Rani, Jaffrabad, Hauz Rani, Jamia and Turkman Gate were also removed by police.

The protest at Shaheen Bagh against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) had attracted nationwide-attention as it was led by women in the locality and it had inspired similar protests in several localities in the capital as well as other cities and towns outside Delhi.

A senior police official said they had appealed to people to vacate the protest site, citing the lock-down and imposition of Section 144 across the capital. Some of them left the area on Monday evening itself while nine continued to remain at the spot and were detained.

Police had brought cranes and removed the temporary structure erected on the road as well as banners, a map of India and a model India Gate from the spot. Protesters also shared videos of some workers engaged by the authorities removing anti-CAA slogans and graffiti painted on walls in Shaheen Bagh.

"At 7.30am, 24 March, the Delhi Police used coercive force to dismantle our protest site, even though it had been scaled down to symbolic form considering Covid-19 precautions. In the process six women and three male volunteers have been detained. We also ask civil society at large to help ensure no further detainments or arrests take place from the area," protesters said in a tweet posted on their official handle.

However, the police official said they were not clearing the protest site despite repeated persuasion and when they refused to clear up, they were removed forcefully.

Shaheen Bagh protesters said they will be back on the streets with their protest soon after the situation on Covid-19 improves.

On Sunday, the Shaheen Bagh protesters had tweeted that they stand in solidarity with all measures taken during this fight against Covid-19 but asked "how many more innocent lives have to be sacrificed before the government takes notice of its own ineptitude dealing with this crisis? When will they call off CAA-NRC-NPR". During 'Janata Curfew', Shaheen Bagh protesters had decided to scale down its protest by allowing only five persons to protest.