NEW DELHI, Feb 29 (NNN-PTI) – The death toll during communal violence in the Indian capital city Delhi, Friday evening, rose to 42, officials said.
Over 350 people were also injured in the violence, that ravaged the city for three days.
“As per records available at different hospitals, the death toll by now is 42,” an official said. “Besides this, the number of injured in the violence is over 350.”
Police officials said, the situation was under control but personnel were still deployed in the affected areas.
The violence left a trail of damage in the northeastern parts of the city, as torched vehicles, vandalised shops and burnt buildings present a scary look.
Unrelenting communal violence broke out in the northeastern part of the city following which mobs armed with sticks and rods resorted to arson, looting and vandalism.
Many people, especially Muslims, have left their homes in the affected areas and took shelter in other safer locations.
Protests against the controversial new citizenship law triggered on Dec 11, last year, the day India’s upper house of parliament passed the law. Since then there has been no let-up in the protests.
The law aims at granting citizenship to illegal immigrants belonging to six religions – Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism, Parsi and Christianity – from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan. However, it has kept out Muslim immigrants from applying for citizenship.
So far, violence against the law has killed over 70 people across India.– NNN-PTI
