Mosque set on fire during deadly violence in Indian capital New Delhi

The death toll in New Delhi's worst religious violence in decades has risen to dozens as Indian police have been accused of looking the other way while Muslims and their properties were targeted.

A mosque was set on fire in the Indian capital on Tuesday by Hindu mobs, as several Muslim-populated areas in the city were attacked during three days of violence, which were triggered after attacks on sit-ins against a new citizenship law.

Video footage shared on social media showed a mob climbing to the top of the mosque's minaret where they attempted to plant a saffron flag.

The wire reported that a mob shouting hindu-nationalist slogan 'jai shri ram', translated to "hail lord ram", paraded around the burning mosque in the Ashok Nagar area of the capital.

Local media reported that shops in the area were also being targeted by the Hindu mob.

Another video footage shared on social media showed injured people are laying down on the ground and they are forced to sing the national anthem. security forces record them, beating them and shout "freedom".

Tensions in parts of the city remained high on Tuesday with schools remaining shut in some areas amid news reports of fresh clashes.

At least five metro stations in the city were closed.

The violence began at the weekend and continued to rock the capital amid U.S. President Donald Trump and his family's visit.

India's citizenship amendment act, which eases the path for non-Muslims from neighboring Muslim-majority nations to gain citizenship, has triggered weeks of sometimes violent protests against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government.

The law is seen by its opponents as discriminating against Muslims.

India, with a population of over 1.3 billion, is 80% Hindu and 14% Muslim, which means it has one of the largest Muslim populations of any country in the world.

There have been growing questions about the stance of the government, led by modi's hindu nationalist party, toward India's 172 million muslims.

Attacks on minorities, especially Muslims, have risen sharply across India in the last few years under the leadership of Modi.