Delhi CAA protests: Shooter identified as 'Shahrukh'
Videos of a man in red shirt firing in the air, confronting a policeman went viral online
The man in the red shirt has been identified. He was caught firing a gun amongst the anti-CAA protestors in the Indian capital of Delhi, yesterday. Social media users were furious because it added a violent element to the anti-government protests that have been largely peaceful to date.
The Indian government issued the Citizen (Amendment) Act a few months' ago that discriminated against people based on their faith. There have been widespread protests across India against it, with students coming out in large numbers against a ruling they feel violates the Constitution of India.
Video of the 33-year-old man identified as "Shahrukh" shooting a gun in the air emerged online and has been trending ever since. He is believed to be a resident of Delhi's Shahdara area, according to a report by Indian news channel NDTV.
Currently, Shahrukh has been detained by the police and a First Information Report (FIR) has been filed against him.
A clip of Shahrukh in the Jaffrabad area, wearing a red shirt and confronting an unarmed policeman while shooting in the air surfaced online. The video shows the police officer holding his hands away from his body to indicate that he is unarmed and moving backwards. Shahrukh then pushes the cop before shooting in the air once more. People around the gunman are seen running away.
Until now, five people, including a police official, have been killed and nearly 100 injured during the anti-CAA protest violence happening in northeast Delhi.
According to a report by Alt News, the shooter might have been from the crowd of anti-CAA protestors. There is no confirmation of this news.
Social media reacts to violence
As soon as he was identified, his name, ‘Shahrukh’, trended on Twitter in India. People asked authorities to take action and arrest those who are making the protests violent.
Twitter user @alinakashan wrote: “Today Shahrukh fired. That day Gopal fired. Why this lawlessness in the capital?#AmitShahResign for this! Shahrukh and Gopal both are spreading terror. They should be granted hardest punishment in order to give a strong message to rest of their kind.”
A journalist, @Zebaism, tweeted: “This guy Shahrukh deserves to be punished and has been arrested. But he’s certainly not the only one. There are others like him who’ve used guns in Delhi. Arrest them all! More than 160 people injured by gunshots came to GTB [Guru Teg Bahadur] Hospital till late night yesterday. #DelhiBurning”
User @Joydas wrote about others who have been violent during the protests: “The terrorist who was arrested today for firing during protests has been identified as Shahrukh. Hope he meets exactly the same fate of terrorists Kapil Gurjar and Rambhakt Gopal who had done exactly the same thing.”