The death toll in ongoing communal riots in India’s capital New Delhi has risen to 35, a Health Ministry official said on Thursday.
The number of fatalities was 27 on Wednesday but eight more deaths were reported overnight, said the official, requesting anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.
AT LEAST 200 INJURED
He added that more than 170 people have been injured in the violence.
However, local media broadcaster NDTV reported that death toll has climbed to 35, leaving more than 200 people injured.
Clashes between pro- and anti-citizenship law protesters started on Sunday and have devolved into communal violence between Hindus and Muslims.
A delegation of the opposition Congress Party met India’s President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday to demand the removal of Home Minister Amit Shah, a close aide of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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“We handed over our demands to President Kovind in a memorandum. The Centre and the Delhi government were mute spectators to the violence,” Congress leader Sonia Gandhi said after the meeting.
Former premier Manmohan Singh was also part of the Congress delegation.
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“We met the president to tell him that what has happened in Delhi over the past four days is a national shame and a matter of great concern,” he said. “It is a reflection of the total failure of the Central [BJP] government.”
