Bijnor (UP): The Uttar Pradesh police on Tuesday admitted that one of the protesters killed in Bijnor died in police action when a constable fired in self defence, the first such admission amid repeated assertions that "not a single bullet" was fired by the police.
Fifteen people have died in the state in violent protests. On Tuesday, Bijnor superintendent of police Sanjeev Tyagi told a news channel, “When one of our constables moved ahead to take back the gun that was snatched away by the protesters, a member of the crowd opened fire at him. He had a narrow escape. In retaliatory firing for self-defence, one person was shot at. His name is Suleman and he died. Another protester identified as Anis died in firing from the crowd.”
The family of 20-year-old Suleman, however, claim that he was preparing for his civil services entrance exam and had nothing to do with the protests.
“My brother had gone to offer namaaz and was returning home to eat something. He had fever for the last few days. He did not go to the mosque near our home but went to another one. When he stepped out, there was lathi-charge and tear-gassing by the police. The cops picked him up and shot at him,” said Suleman’s brother Shoaib Malik.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had visited Bijnor on Sunday and met the families of Suleman and Anis.
The families claim the police intimidated them after the incident and warned them not to speak to anyone.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, for the first time, makes religion the test of citizenship in India. The government says it will help minorities from three Muslim-dominated countries to get citizenship if they come to India because of religious persecution.
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