At least 25 killed in India violence

The death toll in the worst religious violence to hit India’s capital in decades has risen to at least 25, according to a health official.

 

The death toll in the worst religious violence to hit India’s capital in decades has risen to at least 25, according to a health official.

The violence was triggered after Muslims protesting against a discriminatory citizenship law were attacked.

Over 200 people have been injured during four days of violence in Muslim-populated areas of northeast Delhi, with police accused of looking the other way as a mob on Sunday went on the rampage, killing people and damaging properties, including mosques.

The violence was triggered after weeks-long peaceful sit-ins in New Delhi against a new citizenship law were attacked by Hindu nationalist mobs.

Muslims, India’s largest minority, say the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) passed last December discriminates against them and goes against the country’s secular ethos.

India’s Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who hosted US President Donald Trump as the violence continued, has been criticised for not acting on time.

On Tuesday night, civil society members carried out a solidarity march against the violence.