As the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) turned violent in Uttar Pradesh, the death toll has risen to 11, including the death of an 8-year-old boy.
The boy lost his life in a stampede in Varanasi, when a violent mob was being chased by police personnel, India Today reported.
Meerut district reported four deaths whereas six people were killed in clashes between protesters and police.
According to police officials, six policemen also received bullet injuries in various parts of the state.
The anti-CAA protests turned violent in Uttar Pradesh on Friday with protesters hurling stones and torching vehicles in various districts of the state.
Police vehicles were set ablaze in Ferozabad and Kanpur’s Babupurwa area. A police post was targeted in Meerut’s Islamabad area.
Also read: Citizenship Amendment Act protests: 2 killed in Mangalore, 1 in Lucknow
India Today reported that Lucknow, Kanpur, Gorakhpur, Meerut and Sambhal were some of the areas that were worst-hit by the protests.
Mobile internet services were suspended in Lucknow, Kanpur, Allahabad, Agra, Aligarh, Ghaziabad, Varanasi, Mathura, Meerut, Moradabad, Muzaffarnagar, Bareli, Ferozabad, Pilibhit, Rampur, Saharanpur, Shamli, Sambhal, Amroha, Mau, Azamgarh and Sultanpur.
Mobile internet services are still suspended in Aligarh, Mau, Azamgarh, Lucknow, Kanpur, Bareilly, Shahjahanpur, Ghaziabad, Bulandshahr, Sambhal and Allahabad in view of the situation.
Protests have been witnessed across the country after the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB), 2019 was passed by the Parliament last week. It became an act after receiving assent from President Ram Nath Kovind.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill amends the Citizenship Act, 1955 to make illegal migrants who are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, who entered India on or before 31 December 2014, eligible for Indian citizenship. Muslims have been excluded from the bill, which was approved by PM Narendra Modi’s Cabinet last week.
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