New Delhi, February 1: Anger had been building up inside the youth, who fired at people protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act outside Jamia Millia Islamia University, as he was consuming hateful content on social media and WhatsApp over the past eight months. During interrogation, it was revealed that the teenager was also angry over the killing of two men belonging to right-wing outfits in Uttar Pradesh, according to a report. Jamia Firing: Manoj Tiwari Says 'Shooter Is Either AAP Supporter or From Shaheen Bagh'.

Two years ago, the teenager came in contact with two people and they would discuss how their religion was under threat. "He would closely follow their posts and stream their videos, and was active on WhatsApp groups critical of the current anti-CAA protests, especially in Shaheen Bagh and Jamia," a police officer told The Indian Express. Before the shooting, he wrote on Facebook that he was taking revenge for "Chandan Bhai". Delhi Assembly Elections 2020: Shaheen Bagh Protest Not Blocking Routes to Polling Stations, Says EC Official.

He was apparently referring to Chandan Gupta who was killed during a motorcycle rally taken out to celebrate Republic Day in 2018 in Uttar Pradesh's Kasganj area. The shooter was also angry with the killing of Hindu Samaj Party leader Kamlesh Tiwari who was killed at his house in Lucknow on October 18, 2019. "For the past eight months, he had been constantly watching social media post by self-proclaimed members of fringe Hindu groups," another officer was quoted as saying.

During interrogation, the shooter described himself as "real nationalist" and admitted that he considered anti-CAA protests at Jamia and Shaheen Bagh as "anti-national activities". He showed no remorse and told police that he can “die for his religion”, that he had “done his job”, and that “they deserved it”, The Indian Express reported. To purchase a country-made pistol, he used Rs 10,000 given to him by his parents to get clothes stitched for a relative’s wedding.

On Thursday, the accused fired a pistol at a group of anti-CAA protesters, injuring Jamia student Shadab Farooq, before walking away while waving the firearm above his head and shouting "Yeh lo aazadi" amid heavy police presence. He was apprehended from the spot and taken into police custody.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 01, 2020 09:22 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).