Pro and...

The strength of the pro-caa protesters was about 4,000 in the afternoon and reduced to 500 by the evening.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kapil Mishra issued a call to gather pro-caa protesters on Sunday afternoon. Mishra, who failed to win the Model Town seat in the recent assembly elections, later posted a video on Twitter, saying he was giving an “ultimatum” to the Delhi Police to clear the anti-caa protesters within three days.

“They want the situation in Delhi to remain volatile. That’s why they [anti-caa protesters] are blocking roads and creating a riot-like atmosphere. We have not picked up a single stone till now. We will wait till [US President Donald] Trump is here [in Delhi]. But after that, we won’t even listen to you [the police] if the roads aren’t cleared. We are appealing you [police] to clear Jafrabad and Chand Bagh till Trump leaves. If not, we’ll have to take to the streets,” Mishra, who was banned by the Election Commission for 48 hours over “incendiary comments” during election campaigning, said in the video.

Deputy commissioner of police (north-east) Ved Prakash Surya could be seen standing alongside Mishra in the 41-second-long video. The Delhi Police, however, refused to comment on the tweet.

Jafrabad residents said they were peacefully protesting against CAA since January 15 in the locality. They said that they decided to block the road to bring attention to their cause.

“We have been protesting for over a month and yet no one has paid attention to our demands. This is why hundreds of us had to come out and block the road,” said Naziya, 26, one of the anticaa protesters.

JCP Kumar said it was premature to determine the identity of the people pelting the stones and who they were targeting.

“We used minimum force such as tear gas to disperse them,” said Kumar, adding that any use of batons was only to push back the miscreants. While the number of civilians injured in the stone-pelting wasn’t immediately known, at least three policemen sustained wounds in the incident, he said.

The anti-caa protesters said they only intended to block one side of the road. While the carriageway adjacent to Jafrabad Metro station’s gate no. 1 was teeming with protesters waving national flags and chanting slogans, others could be seen managing traffic on the other carriageway.

“Our intention is not to inconvenience anybody and that is why we contained our protest to only one side of the road. We just want the government to listen to our concerns,” said Javed Ali, 25, a salesperson and a local resident.

The anti-caa protesters said they were extending solidarity to