Jamia shooter sent to 28 days’ protective custody

NEW DELHI: The 17-year-old who fired at a crowd outside Jamia Millia Islamia, and injured a postgraduate student, reportedly told the police that his plan was to go to Shaheen Bagh, where people are protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, but an autorickshaw driver dropped him at the university campus. The teenager from Jewar in Greater Noida was sent to a 28-day protective custody by a Juvenile Justice Board on Friday.

Police said the minor, who will write his Class 12 board exams next month, showed no signs of remorse while in their custody for nearly 24 hours.

Investigators he was “selfradicalised” by watching news and videos on social media regarding the murders of Hindu leaders such as Chandan Gupta and Kamlesh Tiwari and anticaa protests in Shaheen Bagh.

Gupta was killed in Kasganj on January 26, 2018 while Tiwari was murdered at his house in Lucknow in October last year.

According to the police, the teenager told them his original plan was to “fire in the air” at Shaheen Bagh and “become famous”. “He told us he panicked, feared getting lynched, and fired at the crowd when he saw some of them rushing towards him soon after they saw him brandishing a gun and threatening for shoot them”, said an investigator, requesting anonymity. “He had purchased the country-made pistol for ₹10,000 from a person living near his village on Wednesday and left for Shaheen Bagh on Thursday. He denied having links with Hindu organisations or leaders, even as we have learnt he was in contact with one such leader for the past 2-3 months.” No senior police officer agreed to share details of investigation.