Indian capital chief minister demands curfew, army deployment to contain violence
Xinhua
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File photo: CGTN

NEW DELHI, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- New Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Wednesday that curfew should be imposed and army called in to contain violence in the Indian capital that has claimed 18 lives.

"I have been in touch with large number of people the whole night. Situation alarming. Police, despite all its efforts, unable to control the situation and instil confidence," Kejriwal wrote on Twitter.

Unrelenting communal violence erupted in the northeastern part of the city following which mobs armed with sticks and rods resorted to arson, looting and vandalism.

Nearly 200 people including policemen were injured, besides shops, houses and vehicles set on fire.

The clashes broke out between pro- and anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) groups in the capital on Sunday and took an ugly turn on Monday and Tuesday.

Protests against the controversial law erupted on Dec. 11 last year, the day India's upper house of parliament passed the law. Since then there has been no let-up in the protests.

The law aims at granting citizenship to illegal immigrants belonging to six religions - Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism, Parsi and Christianity - from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan. However, it has kept out Muslim immigrants from applying for citizenship.