At least 25 killed in India violence

2/26/20
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. Nearly 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. India's Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who hosted US President Donald Trump as the violence continued, has been criticized for not acting on time. At least 25 people have now been killed in the violence, according to a health official cited by local media outlet Asian News International news agency. The death toll was given by Sunil Kumar, the medical superintendent of Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, where many of the victims have been brought for treatment. Victims of arson have accused the Delhi Police of abetting the Hindu mob during the violence. The mobs were wielding iron rods, bricks and bamboo sticks and attacked the homes of Muslims amid chants of "Jai Shri Ram," or "Victory to Lord Ram," the popular Hindu god of the religious epic "Ramayana".

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Rogue Valley said:

At least 25 killed in India violence

Death toll in worst violence in decades to hit Indian capital rises to 25, with police accused of partisanship.

A Muslim man is beaten with wooden poles by Hindus on the street in northern New Delhi.

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The violence is due to an amended Citizenship Law passed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The amended Citizenship Law allows individuals from six religious communities (Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian) living in Pakistan, Afghanistan or Bangladesh to file for expedited Indian citizenship. Muslims are excluded. It it felt by many that the amended law is discriminatory and anti-Muslim.

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