Attempt to murder charge filed against man, who shot at Jamia student

A man shot at students who were protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Bill on Thursday. The man, who claims to be minor took out his gun at a student march from Jamia Milia Islamia University to Rajghat against CAA and started shouting threats.

Despite a heavy police presence, visuals from the incident showed him walking alone on an empty road barricaded by police and finally taking a shot at the protesters. After shooting, he turned around and shouted, “Yeh lo azaadi”. His bullet injured a first-year student of Jamia’s mass communication department.

While the man was overpowered by police and arrested, the injured student Shahdab Farooq was seen bleeding from his left hand. He was taken to the AIIMS Trauma Centre, from where he was discharged following surgery.

Jamia Coordination Committee’s statement on the shocking incidents of today.#Jamia #JamiaShooting #JamiaViolence #JamiaMilia https://t.co/Na8oX25Su3

— Shaheen Bagh Official (@Shaheenbaghoff1) January 30, 2020

Meanwhile, Delhi Police were accused of not taking any steps to stop the culprit before he shot at the protestors.

The injured student’s friend, Aamna Asif too accused that the police did not come to their help and allow the ambulance to go through the barricades. She said they were “shouting for help from the police but they didn’t help. Shadab had to jump the barricade” in an injured state since the police were not removing the barricades to let them in.

In its defence, the Delhi Police said that the incident took place too quickly to react. “By the time police could react, the person had already fired. Everything happened in seconds. The investigation is on and the case has been transferred to the Crime Branch. We have apprehended the person. We are investigating whether he is a juvenile or not,” Special CP Intelligence Praveer Ranjan told reporters.

Jamia V-C Najma Akhtar, who visited the injured student at the AIIMS trauma centre, also slammed the police for alleged inaction. “Cops just watched as man brandished a pistol and shot our student, the incident has shaken our faith in the police.” Akhtar further added that the university will bear the cost of Shadab’s treatment and will reschedule his exams. He also praised the students for handling the situation tactfully.

Devesh Shrivastava, Joint Commissioner of Delhi Police said that the shooter has been booked under Section 307 of the IPC, which is the charge of attempt to murder.

Devesh Shrivastava, Joint Commissioner of Police: They wanted permission to protest at Raj Ghat. We have stopped them here as they do not have any such permission. FIR has been registered against person who opened fire under 307 IPC and Arms Act and further investigation is on. https://t.co/UhkBEla6fY pic.twitter.com/ncFgv5t2BV

— ANI (@ANI) January 30, 2020

Later on Thursday night, seven-hour long protests broke out with agitated students and others gathering near the university, breaking barricades and clashing with police personnel. The students also organised a massive protest outside the Delhi Police headquarters at ITO. The students protested against the Delhi Police for being a “mute spectator” while the man fired the pistol.

According to reports, the gunman went live on Facebook before the brandishing the gun. He put out messages on the social media platform, referencing the Shaheen Bagh protests nearby. He said things like, “Shaheen Bhag Khel Khatam and “Please wrap me in saffron in my last journey with slogans of Jai Shri Ram.” His Facebook profile was deleted after screenshots of his posts were circulated widely on social media platforms.

Source: India Today