EC removes cop Rajesh Deo from poll duty; Deo had said Shaheen Bagh shooter was from AAP

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission (EC) issued warning to Delhi crime Branch officer Rajesh Deo who had said that Kapil Gujjar who opened fire in Shaheen Bagh was connected to AAP. Deo had told reporters that photographs and videos recovered from his phone show that he and his father joined AAP party a year ago.

The EC said that such a statement was "totally uncalled for" and that his remarks could have“consequences for the holding of free and fair elections”

"A warning shall be issued to Rajesh Deo and it shall be ensured that he is not assigned any work related to Delhi elections," the EC state in a letter written to Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik.

Kapil Gujjar, a resident of Dallupura village in east Delhi, opened fire in Shaheen Bagh area after which the police overpowered and apprehended him. Bullet shells have also been recovered from the site of the firing.

A police officer present at the spot said: “three bullets were fired in the air”.

The local residents, however, claimed Kapil was overpowered by them and then handed over to the police.

He was alleged “very close to the police” when he opened fire. He was standing near the second barricade which is partially open. The Shaheen Bagh protest site has four layers of barricades.

A local resident at the protest site said: “It is a major security lapse… anything can happen here. Police are doing nothing for the security of the people here who are protesting peacefully.”

In a video tweeted by a TV channel, the shooter could be heard saying: “Iss desh mein kisi ki nahin chalegi, sirf Hinduon ki chalegi. (In this country, no one but Hindus can have their say).”

The people present at the protest site said he threatened protesters, warning them to vacate the site where they have been holding a protest against the CAA and the National Register of Citizens since December, before firing in the air.

Before this incident, another man with a pistol entered the venue of Shaheen Bagh protests in Delhi. The man reportedly threatened the gathering and asked the protestors to vacate the area. The man with the pistol allegedly shouted, “clear the road or people will die.”

The protest at Shaheen Bagh began with the passage of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in December last year and the ensuing police intervention against students at Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University on December 15. Growing in size by the day, it has now become the longest ongoing protest against CAA-NRC-NPR, triggering similar movements in different parts of the country.

CAA aims to protect religiously persecuted Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan by giving them Indian Citizenship. The cut-off date for those to be given citizenship in India has been fixed at, on or before 31st December 2014.

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