SC interlocutor Wajahat Habibullah files affidavit, says police 'unnecessarily blocking roads' in Shaheen Bagh

The Supreme Court-appointed interlocutor, Wajahat Habibullah has filed an affidavit in the apex court regarding road blockage in Shaheen Bagh.

In his affidavit, he blamed the police for "unnecessarily blocking the roads" and also called the protests in Shaheen Bagh 'peaceful.'

Wajahat stated that that the police have blocked five points around Shaheen Bagh. He added that if the blockade is removed then the traffic will function normally.

He also suggested that the government should engage in a dialogue with the protestors regarding CAA, NPR and NRC.

The hearing on the matter is scheduled to be held on Monday by a two-judge bench.

Supreme Court-appointed interlocutors -- senior advocates Sanjay Hegde and Sadhana Ramachandran -- have held three days of talks with the protesters over the issue of difficulty to commuters due to blocking of roads.

Earlier on Friday, the road from Noida through Kalindi Kunj towards Faridabad was reopened for a brief period by the UP Police, only to be closed a few minutes later.

According to reports, the police removed the barricades on the stretch from Noida's Mahamaya flyover to Delhi and Faridabad was opened just for the passage of a bus. They were placed again after a few minutes.

Protesters at South Delhi's Shaheen Bagh have been sitting in protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) for over two months. Protesters, largely comprising women, have refused to move out of the road before their demands are met.