(Image source from: www.firstpost.com)

A gunman has fired at a rally outside Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) university on Thursday marking the anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination.

The incident had taken place when people had gathered outside the Jamila Millia Islamia (JMI) university in order to protest peacefully regarding the new citizenship law of India and also to commemorate Mahatma Gandhi.

It is said that the suspected Hindu nationalist went live on Facebook in order to warn that he was taking his final journey and minutes later he had opened a fire on the students of the university who had been protesting against the new citizenship law of India.

One student had been reportedly injured as he was shot in the hand before the police has arrested the alleged gunman who has timed his attack on Thursday in order to coincide with the anniversary of the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi in 1948 by a Hindu radical.

Several protests have been made across India since December against the citizenship law that has been recently amended by the government of India known as the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

The Citizenship Amendment Act seeks in providing citizenship of India to the non- Muslim communities i.e., Hindus, Christians, Buddists, Jains, Parsis, Sikhs of the three neighboring countries namely Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan who have been facing religious persecution there and who have come to India on or before 31st of December 2014.

The video that has been getting circulated on social media showed the man brandishing a handgun which was held at a distance of several meters away from dozens of police officers in Delhi outside the Jamia Millia Islamia university where in a march for protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act has been organized and more than thousand protesters have gathered in order to take part in the protest.

It is said that the alleged gunman went live on Facebook before the incident that has taken place on Thursday as he was walking around the area where the protest has been taking place.

It has been found that the account of the gunman has been later deleted from Facebook and the Facebook has stated that there exists no place for the people who commit this kind of violence, on Facebook.

Amit Shah who is the home minister of India has mentioned in his twitter handle that he has spoken to the chief of the Delhi police and has asked the police of Delhi to take a strict action. He added saying that any such incident will not be tolerated by the federal government and that serious action shall be taken.

-Shrithika Kushangi