Three dead, scores wounded in India protests

Three persons were killed and several injured as protesters in India clashed with police against a controversial law that targets Muslim minority.

Protesters in Uttar Pradesh, parts of Delhi, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh defied the police to take part in protests against Citizenship Act.

In Mangaluru, where curfew has been declared, two persons died in police firing and 20 policemen were injured. In Lucknow, one person died and three others were injured, according to NDTV.

Hundreds including activists and opposition leaders, were temporarily taken into custody in New Delhi.

The Delhi-Haryana border was sealed for eight hours, hitting road traffic and delaying flights.

Over 100 people were temporarily detained in Bengaluru along with historian Ramachandra Guha, who was dragged away by the police in the middle of a television interview.

The opposition led by the Congress have accused the BJP of trying to suppress the people. While Rahul Gandhi has called the police action “an insult to India’s soul”, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee dared the ruling BJP to go for a UN-monitored referendum on the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Registry of Citizens.

The law promises citizenship to migrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who moved to India by 2014. Critics say it challenges the foundations of India’s secular constitution by making religion a criterion for citizenship.