Delhi riots: Toll climbs to 38, Centre says situation improving
This week, India's national capital, Delhi, was rocked by Hindu-Muslim riots, in which 38 people were killed and hundreds were injured. Now, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has said the situation is crawling back to normalcy and the ban on large gatherings will be lifted for ten hours today — between 4 am and 10 am, and from 4 pm to 8 pm.
The roots for the violence were laid last week when women sat near Jafrabad metro station in Northeast Delhi to protest against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The supporters of the law demanded the site to be cleared and soon things went haywire with stones being pelted. Subsequently, the clash turned into a full-blown Hindu-Muslim riot and by Tuesday, unrepairable damage was inflicted.
In Northeast Delhi, areas like Seelampur, Jafrabad, Maujpur, Kardampuri, Babarpur, Gokulpuri and Shivpuri were affected. As per reports, weapons of all kinds, including guns, stones, petrol bombs, hammers, and rods were used by the rioters. While Delhi burnt, police was accused of being mute spectators and not doing enough. In fact, at least six intel inputs regarding violence were ignored.
Till now, Delhi Police has registered 48 cases, detained 514 people and assured more FIRs will be lodged. And MHA, under whose jurisdiction the Delhi Police comes, said, "No major incident has been reported in the last 36 hours in... northeast (Delhi)." The Ministry added, "People shouldn't believe in rumors and fall prey to evil designs of miscreants and groups interested in precipitating communal tension."
Further, MHA said, "Only 12 police stations out of the 203 in Delhi or about 4.2 percent of Delhi were been affected by these riots." To douse tensions, peace meetings are being held. "Such peace committee meetings would continue till the situation normalizes. So far, nearly 330 meetings have been organized," MHA said and added people affiliated to AAP, Congress, and BJP attended it.
To probe the heart-wrenching violence and bring the perpetrators to justice, the Delhi Police constituted two Special Investigation Teams (SIT). The teams will be headed by DCP Joy Tirkey and DCP Rajesh Deo, and each one will have four Assistant Commissioners of Police (ACP). The investigation of both teams will be overlooked by Additional Commissioner of Police, Crime, BK Singh, Delhi Police said yesterday.
According to TOI, the special investigation teams will probe a "larger conspiracy". The explosives and weapons recovered from the site couldn't have been arranged overnight, cops believe.
— Delhi Police (@DelhiPolice) February 27, 2020
On Thursday, Delhi's L-G Anil Baijal directed police to ensure adequate forces were deployed in battered areas. And Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who kept seeking help from MHA while people died, announced that his government will take care of expenses of riot victims, even if they are recuperating at private facilities. He announced a compensation of Rs. 10 lakh for kin of deceased.
