NEW DELHI: Death toll rose to 18, with at least 150 injured, in one of the worst communal violence in years as rampaging rioters in several parts of the city set fire to buildings and vehicles, and attacked journalists.
Protests against a contentious citizenship law began on a smaller scale Sunday but descended Monday and Tuesday into running battles between Hindus and Muslims in New Delhi s northeast, where rioters armed with stones, swords and even guns were out in force.
Police imposed a restriction on large gatherings in the area as the violence continued with reports of stone pelting and more structures set ablaze. “I can now confirm 13 deaths. At least 150 people have come to our hospital with injuries,” Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital officials told media.
A dozen people were in critical condition, he added. “We are still receiving some people with injuries, most of them firearm injuries today.”
The riots coincided with the visit of US President Donald Trump, who held bilateral meetings with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in Delhi on Tuesday.
Officers set up roadblocks in riot-hit areas and cleared two northeast neighbourhoods of protesters.
The capital s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who visited the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, earlier pleaded for the “madness to stop”. “I appeal to everyone to stop the violence,” the chief minister said.
National Home Minister Amit Shah, whose ministry controls law and order in the capital region, met with senior Delhi government officials and promised to deploy more police if they were needed, Kejriwal said.
At least 10 injured people admitted to Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital over a half-hour period, some claiming to have bullet wounds. “Since yesterday, we ve been calling the police to enforce a curfew, to send reinforcements,” a student from a riot-hit area said.
At Jaffrabad localoty peoppe turn off their lights at home and lock their buildings amid a massive police presence.
Police manning barricades said mobs in the area were threatening journalists and that their officers had come under attack through the day.
The new law has raised worries abroad — including in Washington — that Modi wants to remould secular India into a Hindu nation while marginalizing the country s 200 million Muslims, a claim he denies.
After meetings with Modi, Trump said on Tuesday that the riots were an internal matter for India.
Global rights group Amnesty International tweeted that “political leaders in India who are fueling hatred and creating a violent environment by making hate speeches must be immediately held accountable”.
Read more: Four killed in India clash ahead of Trump arrival
