Death toll in Meerut violence rises to 5

Update: 2019-12-22 18:19 GMT

Meerut (UP): The death toll in the violence that occurred during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act in Uttar Pradesh's Meerut two days ago rose to five, a senior police official said on Sunday.

The deceased have been identified as Mohsin, Aasif, Zahir, Aalim, all residents of Meerut, and Asif from Delhi, Inspector General Alok Singh said.

During the protests on Friday, protesters had torched vehicles and pelted stones at police, who used lathi charge and lobbed tear gas shells to disperse mobs.

Thirty-five policemen were also injured in Friday's violence. They are undergoing treatment at different hospitals in the city, Singh said.

Police have arrested 102 people in connection with the violence and efforts are on to nab the other suspects, he added.

Singh said internet services have been shut down for now and social media is being continuously monitored for inflammatory posts.

To maintain law and order, peace committees have been constituted under police stations and local residents have also been roped in, he said.

Meanwhile, a 30-year-old man succumbed to his injuries at a hospital on Sunday, taking the death toll in violence in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur during protests against the citizenship law to three, police said.

Two persons had died on Friday in clashes between the protesters and police.

Another person, Mohd Raees, who sustained critical injuries in Babupurwa, was admitted to the Hallet Hospital on Saturday for treatment, Kanpur range Inspector General Mohit Agarwal said.

The officer said the role of AIMIM workers and SIMI activists was being suspected behind the violence.

"Cases have been registered against a large number of SIMI workers," he said.

Kanpur zone Additional Director General Prem Prakash told reporters that a possible angle of ISI funding was also being looked into. 

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