Report says at least fifteen people have died in violence in India’s Uttar Pradesh state since the protests against a controversial new citizenship law erupted.
The latest figure raises the overall death toll across the country to twenty-two.
More than two hundred and sixty police personnel have been injured in the violence and arson in the state, Praveen Kumar, inspector general of Uttar Pradesh Police, said in a news conference.
According to the report, two others were killed in protests in the city of Mangalore, five were killed in northeastern Assam state when protests first erupted.
At the center of the unrest is the Citizenship Amendment Act, CAA, which was passed into law last week.
The law promises to fast-track citizenship for non-Muslim religious minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who arrived in India before 2015.
People have taken to the streets across India in response to the new rules, which was passed into law last week, despite a ban on public gatherings in various regions now in place.
Internet services in the state capital Lucknow will also remain suspended, after protesters set fire to buildings and clashed with police on Thursday.
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