Delhi: Women block key road in Jaffrabad, metro station closed
Hundreds of women have blocked a key road in Delhi's Jaffrabad to lodge a protest against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), since last night, and efforts are on to clear the path. With tensions peaking, the Delhi Metro Train Corporation (DMRC) shut the entry and exit gates at Jaffrabad station. Trains will not be halting at this station, DMRC said earlier today.
Women shouted slogans of 'Azaadi', sat through the night
Demanding that the law, which makes religion a criterion for granting Indian citizenship to residents of three neighboring countries, is repealed, the women sat near the metro station. They shouted slogans of "Azaadi" and over the night, the crowd swelled. Some of them tied blue strips on their arms and shouted "Jai Bhim". They refused to move till CAA is rolled back.
Here are the visuals from the spot
They have blocked an important road
The protesters have blocked road no. 66, that connects Seelampur to Maujpur and Yamuna Vihar. Notably, another protest against CAA is already underway near the Seelampur road and Kardampuri. In December, protests against CAA had turned violent at Jaffrabad.
This is not right: Senior officer dismissed the protest
This morning, senior police officer Ved Prakash Surya said cops have been deployed and efforts are on to vacate the area. "We are holding talks with the protesters so that they leave... they can't block a major road like this. We have called paramilitary security personnel," the senior cop added. Visuals from the site showed that dozens of cops were present.
The administration is already struggling to clear another stretch
The protest at Jaffrabad started at a time when efforts are underway to clear another major road in Delhi. For over two months now, the Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch has been blocked courtesy the sit-in protest at Shaheen Bagh. This month, the Supreme Court said protests should happen only in designated areas and asked two lawyers to convince the protesters to shift.
Yesterday, road was opened but confusion still persists
"A little earlier today, Road No. 9 was reopened by a group of protestors, but later it was closed by another group. Again, a group of protestors have reopened a small stretch, however, still there's no clarity if all protestors have consent on this," DCP South East said yesterday.
