Call of peace and love from protesters at Jantar Mantar

New Delhi: Hundreds gathered at the Jantar Mantar on Wednesday and appealed for peace and harmony in the riots-hit northeast Delhi, singing peace songs, protest poems, and banners against violence and for communal harmony, .

'I am ashamed', 'I am shocked' and 'This is not my Delhi' become a familiar refrain among those who gathered at the venue. Some protesters also recited 'Dastur', a poem by revolutionary poet Habib Jalib.

"Kyuun darate ho zindan ki divar se, zulm ki baat ko jahl ki raat ko main nahin manta, main nahin janta (Don't scare me with your jails, the tongue of oppression, the night of ignorance I refuse to accept)," recited Anshul Gupta, a student of Delhi University, who was also holding a placard featuring the same lines. He said he was here because "Delhi is burning and we all need to do our bit to douse the fire".

The two days of communal mayhem led to the death of at least 24 people in the northeast areas of Delhi leaving. Several people were injured in the violence, triggered by clashes between two groups over the Citizenship Amendment Act.

While there was a placard calling the violence "pogrom, not clash", or the one which read "Error 404 Humanity not found", majority were found to be against "failure of Delhi Police" and demanding action against BJP leader Kapil Mishra.

During his pro-CAA demonstration at Maujpur Chowk, Mishra had issued an ultimatum to police to vacate the roads blocked by anti-CAA protesters in Jaffrabad and Bhajanpura areas in three

days, warning that he will come back on the streets if no action was taken.

CPI General Secretary D Raja, CPI(M) leaders Sitaram Yechury and Brinda Karat and others took part in the protest, which majorly saw participation by college-going students and civil society.