Police have clashed with demonstrators in parts of the Indian capital, Delhi, during protests over a controversial new law on migrants.

The new law entitles non-Muslim migrants from three Muslim-majority countries to citizenship if they are facing religious persecution.

Police used tear gas and truncheons against protesters as buses were torched and roads were blocked.

Protests swept campuses across the country against the police crackdown at Jamia Millia Islamia after Sunday evening's violence over the new citizenship law. Students at the Aligarh Muslim University clashed with the police after their solidarity march was stopped. 

By midnight, Hyderabad's Maulana Azad Urdu University and the Banaras Hindu University raised their voices. In Delhi, hundreds gathered outside the Police Headquarters in response to a call from the students of Jawaharlal Nehru University. 

The trouble started Sunday evening after a protest march by the Jamia students ended in a pitched battle with the police, vandalism and torching of vehicles. The police, which used batons and teargas to contain the violence, later barged into the university and detained around 100 students. All the detained students were released around 3:30 am.

Protests have raged across north and east India since the law was passed.

Six people have been killed in the five days of unrest.

This weekend, demonstrators in West Bengal blocked key national highways while in Assam, the state government briefly lifted a curfew to allow people to buy essential goods.

The UK, US and Canada have issued travel warnings for people visiting India's north-east, telling their citizens to "exercise caution" if travelling to the region.

Source: BBC, NDTV

BDST: 0950 HRS, DEC 16, 2019
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