23 dead as protests grow against India citizenship law

Violent protests against India's citizenship law that excludes Muslim immigrants swept the country over the weekend despite the government's ban on public assembly and suspension of internet services in many parts, raising the nationwide death toll to 23, police said.

Nine people died in clashes with police in Uttar Pradesh on Dec. 21, said state police spokesman Pravin Kumar. He said most of the victims were young people but denied police were responsible.

"Some of them died of bullet injuries, but these injuries are not because of police fire. The police have used only tear gas to scare away the agitating mob," he said.

Around a dozen vehicles were set on fire as protesters rampaged through the northern cities of Rampur, Sambhal, Muzaffarnagar, Bijnore and Kanpur, where a police station was also torched, Singh said.

The backlash against the law marks the strongest show of dissent against the Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi since he was first elected in 2014.

The law allows Hindus, Christians and other religious minorities who are in India illegally to become citizens if they can show they were persecuted because of their religion in Muslim-majority Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. It does not apply to Muslims.

Critics have slammed the legislation as a violation of India's secular constitution and have called it the latest effort by the Modi government to marginalize the country's 200 million Muslims. Modi has defended the law as a humanitarian gesture.

Uttar Pradesh state is controlled by Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

An anti-terror squad was deployed and internet services were suspended for another 48 hours in the state.

Six people were killed during clashes...