Went for peaceful talks with protesters, says owner of gun brandished at Shaheen Bagh

Luqmaan Chaudhary, the owner of the gun that was brandished at Shaheen Bagh yesterday, on Wednesday said that he had gone to the protest site to "peacefully" urge the demonstrators to allow ambulances and school going children to pass through.

"We had gone there to talk to the protestors and urge them to allow the road to be opened for school going children and ambulances. During the talks, the demonstrators started raising 'go back' slogans," Chaudhary told ANI here.

He said that during the commotion, someone noticed that he was carrying a weapon and pulled it out.

"Around 30-40 people had gathered to go and talk to the protestors. I didn't realise that I was carrying a weapon. During the argument, someone noticed that I was carrying a weapon and pulled it out. I don't know who it was," Luqmaan said.

"I have been living here for over 30 years here. A peace committee was formed after these protests. I am also a part of that committee. These protests have been going on for over one and a half month and people are facing a lot of inconvenience," he added.

He said that he has talked to the police about the matter.

According to police, the pistol belonged to Luqmaan Chaudhary but was brandished by another person at the protest site.

The pistol was seized by the police and a case has been registered in the matter.

Further investigation is underway.

Protests have been going on at Shaheen Bagh since December 15 last month against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), due to which the Kalindi Kunj road has been shut for traffic movement.

A petition was also filed in the Supreme Court last week seeking appropriate directions to the police to open the Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch contending that the road closure is causing huge inconvenience to people.

The amended citizenship law grants citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Parsi, Buddhist, and Christian refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, who came to India before 2015.