On January 26, 2018, a Republic Day tiranga motorcycle rally through a locality in the Kasganj city of Uttar Pradesh resulted in stone-pelting, violence and clashes. 20-year-old Abhishek Gupta aka Chandan Gupta was shot dead. The march was organised by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP); According to media reports, Saleem Javed, who confessed to the act, was arrested by the police. The incident resulted in widespread communal tension before the law enforcement intervened to make sure the situation did not go out of hand.
Cut to 2019. Tension spiralled in Jamia Nagar on January 31 afternoon after a man Suresh (name changed as it is not confirmed whether he is a minor), fired at anti-CAA protesters, injuring a Jamia Millia Islamia student. He walked away while waving the firearm above his head and shouting yeh lo aazadi (take your freedom), amid heavy police presence. Anti-CAA protesters at Delhi's Shaheen Bagh and other places often raise slogans like 'CAA se aazaadi', 'NRC se aazaadi' (freedom from CAA and NRC). The man, in a since deleted Facebook profile, claimed he was taking revenge for "Chandan Bhai", apparently in reference to Chandan Gupta. Police said they are yet to ascertain the attacker's real name and age, even though pictures of his purported marksheet and Aadhaar card, hinting that he is a minor, circulated on social media.
Who was the attacker?
Minutes before he fired at anti-CAA protesters in Jamia Nagar on Thursday, the armed man wrote multiple Facebook posts berating the agitators and their aazaadi slogans, and hinting he was prepared for any eventuality. He wrote: "Aazaadi de raha hun (giving you the freedom), Shaheen bhag khel khatm (Run Shaheen, the game is over), Mere ghar ka khayal rakhna (take care of my home) and meri antim yatra par mujhe bhagve me le jayen aur shree ram ke nare hon (wrap me in the saffron for my last rites and chant Shri Ram).
The man also went live on Facebook five times from the protest site and his cover picture of his profile showed him holding a sword. In another post, he said, "please don't call", suggesting he was receiving calls on his phone following his posts. His profile bio on Facebook read, "******* naam hai mera, bio main itna kafi hai, baki samay ane par. Jai Shree Ram (********* is my name. This much is enough for the bio. Rest at an appropriate time. Jai Shree Ram)". The Facebook profile was deleted after screenshots of the posts were shared widely on social media.
The Indian Express reported that, in one of the attacker’s pictures on Facebook, he is seen along with Deepak Sharma, against whom the National Security Act (NSA) was invoked after clashes between Indian and Afghan students at Sharda University in October 2018. An FIR was filed against "outsiders" who were purportedly seen in videos of the incident, "escalating the minor scuffle into a communal issue". Deepak Sharma, allegedly a member of Rashtriya Swabhiman Dal, was detained under the National Security Act for "disrupting public order" with his reported "inflammatory video and remarks".
The Jamia shooter, who stays with his family in Uttar Pradesh, had reportedly skipped a family wedding while his kin had gone out to attend it. People from his neighbourhood expressed shock at the development. "He would mostly stay alone and quiet. He never got into violence of any kind nor had any such track record. I got to see his Facebook live and was shocked. I was having my food but stopped midway because what was happening was beyond my imagination," Yogi Sharma, a local, who knew the family, told PTI. He said his parents and other people in the area came to know about the incident from TV channels after they starting broadcasting live video soon after his Facebook Live.
A friend of the attacker, speaking to The Indian Express, said he would often talk about a “threat” to the Hindu community, and how one must stand up to it. “He never came across as violent, but yes, he would often say we must stand up and fight for the Hindu community." The report also claimed he was very active in a WhatsApp group where they discussed CAA and other issues.
The aftermath
The Jamia firing incident happened in a matter of seconds; by the time the law enforcement could react, the attacker had fired, the Delhi Police said on Thursday. The statement came after the Delhi Police faced flak from Jamia Millia Islamia students and the AAP alleged that the force's personnel were "mute spectators". "By the time police could react, the person had already fired the shot. Everything happened in seconds. The investigation is on. The case has been transferred to the Crime Branch. We are also probing whether he is a juvenile or not," Special Commissioner of Police (Intelligence) Praveer Ranjan.
Thousands of people and police personnel faced off against each other near the Jamia Millia Islamia University in the aftermath of the incident. As night fell, massive protests broke out with agitated students and others gathering near the university, breaking barricades and clashing with police personnel. Some demonstrators, including a woman, could be seen being forcibly taken away. Many sang the national anthem. The protests ended around 9pm after police released four detained demonstrators, according to university and police officials.
While the shooter was overpowered by police and arrested, the injured student Shahdab Farooq, who was seen bleeding from his left hand, was taken to the AIIMS Trauma Centre. Farooq, a mass communications student, belongs to Kashmir.
As tension spiralled in the area, Home Minister Amit Shah said on Twitter that he had spoken to the Delhi police commissioner to take strictest possible action. The home minister also said the Central government will not tolerate such incidents and the guilty will not be spared.
Politicians react
The Congress on Thursday accused the BJP of "polarising" the Delhi assembly polls and said the firing incident at Jamia Milia Islamia is the live manifestation of the "spectre of hate and terror perpetrated by the NDA government" at the Centre. Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said the hate that assassinated Mahatma Gandhi is today mutilating the soul and the economy of India.
"The manner in which an unknown person opened fire at Jamia Millia Islamia University is a result of this hatred, the atmosphere that's been created in this country in the last one month," he told reporters. "It is unfortunate that the hatred that killed the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi, is now prevalent in the power corridors of India," Tewari said.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday said the Jamia firing incident is the result of BJP ministers and leaders inciting crowds with incendiary slogans and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to answer whether he stands with violence or with non-violence. When provocative speeches are given by BJP leaders, such incidents are possible, she added. Gandhi also asked the prime minister what kind of Delhi he wanted and whether he stood by anarchy or development.
"When ministers in the BJP government and leaders provoke people to shoot and give provocative speeches, then such incidents are possible. The prime minister should answer what kind of Delhi he wants to build. Is he standing with violence or non-violence. Is he standing with development or anarchy," she asked in a tweet in Hindi.
Reacting to the Jamia firing incident, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday asked Home Minister Amit Shah to take care of the "deteriorating" law and order situation in Delhi. Kejriwal's statement came through a tweet replying to a post by Shah in which the home minister said he has directed Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik to take strict action in the case. "What is happening in Delhi? The law and order is deteriorating. Please take care of Delhi's law and order," Kejriwal said in the tweet.
-Inputs from PTI