At least 25 killed in India violence
At least 25 people have been killed after India's capital was hit by the worst religious violence in decades, which was triggered after Muslims protesting against a discriminatory citizenship law were attacked.
Nearly 200 people have been injured during three days of violence in Muslim populated areas of northeast Delhi, with police accused of looking the other way as a mob went on the rampage, killing people and damaging properties, including mosques.
India's Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who hosted US President Donald Trump as the violence continued, has been criticised for not acting on time.
On Tuesday night, civil society members took out a peace march in a solidarity march against the violence.
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Here are the latest updates:
Wednesday, February 26
Death toll rises to 25
At least 25 people have now been reported killed, according to local media outlet Asian News International news agency.
Sunil Kumar, the medical superintendent of Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, where many of the victims have been brought for treatment, said three more people had died during the course of treatment.
Victims of Delhi's deadly violence fill hospital
Patients on stretchers crammed the emergency room, while relatives of the dead wailed outside a morgue as injured people continued to pour into a public hospital after three days of violence that left at least 24 people dead.
Rahul Solanki, a 26-year-old Hindu, died from a gunshot wound, according to his family. His younger brother, Rohit Solanki, said he was shot walking to a shop to buy milk.
The corridors of the Guru Teg Bahadur hospital at New Delhi's eastern border are often crowded, but on Wednesday hundreds thronged its wards as doctors worked through the night to treat injuries.
People leave violence-affected areas
Many people living in mixed neighbourthoods, both Hindus and Muslims, have moved out in the wake of the violence.
witter user Md Asif Khan posted a video from @imMAK02 handle that appeared to show people leaving Mustafabad area of Delhi with their belongings.
Victims of arson have accused the Delhi Police of abetting the Hindu mob during the violence.
Day after the mayhem
On Wednesday morning AFP saw people cleaning out the blackened and trashed interior of a mosque in the Ashok Nagar area burned out during the violence.
A video circulated on social media and verified by AFP showed men ripping off the mosque's loudspeaker on top of the mosque's minaret and placing a Hindu religious flag and an Indian flag.
The new citizenship law has raised worries abroad that Modi wants to remould secular India into a Hindu nation while marginalising the country's 200 million Muslims, a claim he denies.
Court ask leaders to reach out to victims
The Delhi High Court has asked leaders to reach out to victims of violence.
"We cannot have another 1984 under the watch of this court and under the watch of all of you," Justice S Murlidhar said referring to the last major violence in 1984 when nearly 3,000 Sikhs were killed.
Schools closed
The clashes between Hindu mobs and Muslims protesting against the citizenship law escalated on Tuesday, according to Rouf Khan, 43, a resident of Mustafabad.
Khan said the mobs were wielding iron rods, bricks and bamboo sticks and attacked the homes of Muslims amid chants of "Jai Shri Ram," or "Victory to Lord Ram," the popular Hindu god of the religious epic "Ramayana".
"I don’t know if our house was burned or not, but when we were running away we heard them asking people to pour kerosene and burn everything down," said Khan who took shelter inside a mosque.
The violence has forced authorities to close schools and place a ban on assembly of people in the affected areas.
Opposition demands home minister's resignation
The leader of the main opposition Congress party has sought resignation of Home Minister Amit Shah for failing to control the deadly violence.
"What was the Home Minister doing since last week? What was the Home Minister doing earlier this week?" Sonia Gandhi, the president of Congress party, said at a news conference in New Delhi.
"The central government, including the Home Minister, responsible. The Congress party demands that he resign immediately."
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