国际英语新闻:Indian police issues shoot-at-sight orders as death toll reaches 13 in citizenship law-relat

NEW DELHI, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Indian police on Tuesday evening issued shoot-at-sight orders in the affected areas in New Delhi, as communal violence over the controversial citizenship law intensifies in the capital, officials said.

"Police deployment has been made in affected areas and order of shoot at sight have been issued to calm the tempers," a local government official said.

Meanwhile, the death toll in the violence over the citizenship law has risen to 13.

"The death toll has gone up to 13," a health official of the Guru Tegh Bahadur (GTB) hospital said.

Over 180 people including policemen were injured in the violence.

Meanwhile, a ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) official also wrote on twitter that shoot at sight orders have been issued.

"S N Srivathsava, Indian Police Service (IPS) of 1985 batch posted as Special Commissioner (Law and Order) of NCT of Delhi with immediate effect. Curfew and shoot at sight orders in four station limits," National General Secretary of BJP B L Santhosh wrote on twitter.

The clashes broke out between pro- and anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) groups in the northeastern part of the city on Sunday and took an ugly turn on Monday.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in his third appeal during the day asked people to maintain peace and stop the "madness."

"Everyone has received injuries whether it is Hindus, Muslims or police personnel. No one will benefit from it and this madness must be stopped," Kejriwal told reporters.

Protests against the controversial new citizenship law broke out in December last year, after India's upper house of parliament passed the law.

The law aims at granting citizenship to illegal immigrants belonging to six religions - Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism, Parsi and Christianity - from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan. However, it has kept out Muslim immigrants from applying for citizenship.

Opposition parties and civil society members in India criticize the law as contrary to secular principles enshrined in India's constitution as it excludes Muslims.