Five dead, 50 injured in anti-CAA protests in New Delhi

New Delhi: Five people including a cop were killed and almost 50 people were injured on Monday after pro and anti-CAA protesters clashed in India’s capital, NDTV reported.

According to the publication, protestors threw stones at each other, set ablaze vehicles and shops and turned the city into a war zone.

The Indian citizens took to the streets of New Delhi hours before US President Donald Trump arrived in the Indian capital.

Also read: India suspends Internet in Aligarh over anti-CAA protests

AFP adds: India has seen weeks of demonstrations and violence since a new citizenship law — that critics say discriminates against Muslims — came into force in December.

The latest unrest erupted between several hundred supporters and opponents of the law in a Muslim-dominated area of northeast Delhi on Sunday and continued into Monday with police seeking to restore order.

The Press Trust of India said protesters torched at least two houses and a fire engine, with local TV channels showing plumes of black smoke billowing from buildings. And two Indian newspapers reported online that a police officer had died.

Riot police fired tear gas and conducted baton charges, local media said.

Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi's chief minister, tweeted: "Very distressing news regarding disturbance of peace and harmony in parts of Delhi coming in."

Also read: Man opens fire at anti-CAA protest in New Delhi, injures one

He urged the home minister to "restore law and order" and ensure "peace and harmony is maintained."

The new law has raised worries abroad — including in Washington — that Modi wants to remould secular India into a Hindu nation while marginalising the country's 200 million Muslims.

A senior US official told reporters Trump would raise concerns about religious freedom in the Hindu-majority nation during the trip, calling them "extremely important to this administration".