Rahul, Priyanka Gandhi visit families of CAA violence victims

NEW DELHI: The Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are on their way to Meerut to meet the families of the ones who have been killed in violence that broke out during the protests that took were made against the Citizenship Amendment Act.

On Sunday, an unscheduled visit was made by Priyanka Gandhi to Bijnor in Uttar Pradesh and met families of two persons, killed in recent violence regarding the amended citizenship law.

In Uttar Pradesh, Bijnor was one of the districts that was most affected by violence over the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) as protesters were hurling stones and brickbats at policemen, and torching some vehicles.

On Thursday, Protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act had broken out in several districts of Uttar Pradesh leaving at least 17 people dead by inflicting damage upon moveable and immoveable assets.

Inspector General Alok Singh on Sunday had said, the death toll in the violence that occurred during protests in Meerut rose to five. Thirty-five policemen were also injured in Friday's violence. They are currently undergoing treatment at different hospitals in the city. In connection with the violence, police have arrested 102 people and efforts to nab the other suspects are on.

Internet services have been shut down for now and social media is being constantly monitored for inflammatory posts, Singh added.

As per critics, the CAA is against the secular ethos of the country. By not making Muslims a part of the ambit of the law, it violates the Fundamental Right to Equality under Article 14 of the Constitution.