NEW DELHI: The armed teenager, who opened fire at Jamia Millia Islamia students during CAA-NRC protest is said to have purchased the gun from the money given for clothes.
According to a report published in the Indian Express, the investigating officer said, the gun-wielding juvenile RamBhakt Gopal Sharma had been given Rs 10,000 by his parents to buy clothes for relative’s wedding.
Instead, he spent the money to buy a country-made pistol from a young man of Gautam Budh Nagar area, revealed Gopal during interrogation.
Religion under threat
During the police interrogation, he also said that he was in touch with some people on social media for the past eight months who told him that religion is under threat.
He used to monitor their social media posts very closely and was also very active on WhatsApp groups.
He was also very critical of the ongoing protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act in Shaheen Bagh and Jamia.
Gopal, on Friday, has been sent to 14-day protective custody by the Juvenile Justice Board.
Jamia shooting
On Thursday, Gopal opened fire with a country-made .315 bore pistol when the students were to start their march from Jamia Millia Islamia to Rajghat.
It left a journalism student, Shadab, with injuries on the arm.
The police, which was watching the march passively, overpowered the assailant later and the weapon used for firing has been seized.
Before opening fire, the assailant had shouted, “If you people want to stay in India then you will have to say ”Vande Mataram.”
He also shouted ”Deta hu tumhe azadi” (Let me give you freedom). He then shouted ”Jai Shri Ram” and opened fire.
Thursday’s shooting in Jamia area amid an anti-CAA protest came to a couple of days after a video clipping of shouting of slogans like ”shoot the traitors” at a BJP public meeting addressed by Ministry of State of Finance Anurag Thakur went viral.