India tightens security for protests after Friday prayers

Indian authorities stepped up security in major cities on Friday and suspended mobile data services in some places in an effort to maintain order ahead of protests planned against a new citizenship law.

According to reports, at least 25 people have been killed in protests across the country since the law, seen as discriminatory towards Muslims, was adopted on December 11.

The backlash against the law, pushed through parliament by the Hindu-nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is the biggest challenge he has faced since he was first elected in 2014.

Violence peaked last Friday when police clashed with protesters in several cities after weekly Muslim congregational prayers, especially in India's most populous state of Uttar Pradesh.

With more protests expected this week, the Uttar Pradesh administration blocked mobile internet services in many parts of the state, including in the provincial capital Lucknow, the state government said.

In the Uttar Pradesh city of Meerut, about 90 km (55 miles) from New Delhi, nearly 3,000 police were deployed, four times more than last Friday, the city's police chief told Reuters.

At least five people were killed in the city last Friday.

In the capital New Delhi, police imposed an emergency law in some parts of the city, forbidding large gatherings, news channels reported. Such prohibitions have been in place in Uttar Pradesh for more than a week.

Despite the restrictions, thousands are expected to gather for protests after Friday prayers in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Chennai, protest organizers said.

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