Thousands of demonstrators participated, Saturday, in new protests against a controversial law on nationality in India, while the toll of the unrest has risen to 24 people so far.
These demonstrations began in Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu state (south), and in Patna, Bihar state (east), where three protesters were shot, according to the police.
A rally was also registered in New Delhi in front of the Great Friday Mosque in India.
A protester died on Saturday in clashes with security forces in Rambur, the capital of Uttar Pradesh state (north), police said.
This came in the wake of Friday´s demonstrations in Uttar Pradesh, which killed 15 people, including an eight-year-old boy, according to the state police chief.
Anger has grown over the new law passed by parliament that allows the Indian government to grant citizenship to millions of non-Muslim immigrants from three neighboring countries. But opponents say the law is part of the program of Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Nirandra Modi to reshape India as a Hindu nation, which the Modi party vehemently denied.
"When the police tried to disperse the protests, the protesters fled into hiding and a kind of stampede occurred in which the child was killed," said police chief Prabhakar Chowdhury.
He added that the police "showed full restraint against the crowds, whose members were throwing stones."
The Times of India newspaper reported that the boy was playing in a side lane with his friend when he was run over by crowd fleeing from the police chase.
The protests began in the northeastern state of Assam, with six people killed and dozens wounded.
These protests pose one of Modi´s challenges since he came to power in 2014.
Despite the United Nations and the United States expressing concern about the recent events in India, Modi insists that his government does not aim to marginalize Muslims, as he stated this week that the new law "does not affect any Indian citizen, whatever his religion."
In an attempt to crack down on the protests, the authorities rushed to impose a state of emergency, block the Internet, cut off mobile services, and close restaurants and shops in several cities across the country.
During the protests, the police opened fire, fired tear gas canisters, chased protesters with batons, and arrested hundreds of people across the country amid increasing violence.
But the protesters vowed to continue their protests until the law is repealed.
On Friday evening, street battles erupted in the heart of the Indian capital, as police fired water cannons and chased protesters, who chanted anti-Modi slogans and threw stones at security agents, at the Delhi Gate in the old Delhi district.
An AFP journalist at the scene saw protesters, including children, being held and beaten by police.
The authorities arrested 40 demonstrators, including eight people under the age of 18, a police spokesman told AFP, adding that most of them, including children, had been released.
A police spokesman said that 15 others had been arrested and were expected to face charges of violence.
The chief judge of the capital had ordered Friday evening the release of all persons under the age of 18.
