Riots over CAA kill 13; arsonists have field day
Shoot at site†orders have been issued by the Delhi Police to rein in the rioters after north-east Delhi continued to burn on Tuesday, with the mobs armed with sticks and rods roamed the streets, pelting stones, vandalising shops and threatening whosoever came in their way.
For the third consecutive day, Gokulpuri, the densely populated area witnessed large-scale rioting as mobs damaged two fire tenders and raised incendiary slogans in strife-torn Maujpur and set a bike on fire. Streets in many parts of the area were littered with stones, bricks and burnt tyres, a mute testimony to the spiraling violence and bloodshed that took on a communal colour on Monday. Such scenes were not seen in the national Capital for decades as frenzied mobs thrashed people on the road in Maujpur and also vented their ire on e-rickshaws and other vehicles. Many journalists were heckled and told to go back. A journalist working with a local channel was shot at while some other scribes were injured.
Even as the Delhi Police undertook steps to quell the continuing violence in several areas of north-east Delhi on Tuesday, incidents of arson continued on Tuesday evening in the Chandbagh area. Rioters set afire shops and pelted stones in a fresh wave of violence even as the police used tear gas to disperse the crowds. Paramilitary forces have been deployed to bring the situation under control.
Since Monday, 13 people, including Delhi Police Head Constable Ratan Lal, have died while around 200 people have been injured, including 56 police personnel, in the clashes between pro and anti-CAA groups at Jafrabad, Maujpur, Chandbagh, Khureji Khas and Bhajanpura. Three firemen also received injuries while dousing flames in the area. Police has registered 11 FIRs.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah convened a meeting with Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi Police chief Amulya Patnaik to address the issue.
Following the clashes, schools were shut and fearful residents stayed indoors as restless crowds roamed the streets, seemingly unmindful of prohibitory orders restricting the assembly of more than four people. Meanwhile, the pleas relating to the north-east Delhi violence, which has claimed 10 lives, reached the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court on Tuesday and they are likely to be heard on Wednesday.
Mandeep Randhawa, Delhi Police spokesperson said the situation in north-east Delhi is under control, even as several parts of the national Capital continued to reel under violence.
“11 FIRs have been registered in connection with the violence. We are responding to incidents involving anti-social elements. Sufficient force has been deployed in north-east Delhi. The Rapid Action Force (RAF) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) have also been deployed,†Randhawa said, adding that senior police officers are monitoring the situation.
Among those killed was Vinod Kumar, a resident of Ghonda who was brought dead to hospital and whose body is at the morgue of the Jag Parvesh Hospital. Also killed was Mohammad Furkan from Kardampuri, near Jafrabad, who got married in 2014 and has two children. His brother, Mohammed Imran, overcome with grief, said they were both in the handicrafts business.
“He had gone to get some food for his children. Someone told me he had been shot. I couldn’t believe it as I had met him barely an hour earlier. I kept calling him... I then rushed to GTB Hospital where I was told that he is dead. My world has crashed around me,†he told reporters, sobbing inconsolably outside the hospital.
Mohammed Imran blamed BJP leader Kapil Mishra’s tweet, giving Delhi Police an ultimatum to clear the streets of protesters and saying people would be quiet only until US President Donald Trump is in India.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Police on Tuesday appealed to residents of city to maintain peace and harmony in the national Capital.
“In the last two days some incidents of stone pelting, arson and damage to property have occurred in some pockets of north-east Delhi. Delhi Police is making all earnest efforts, including deployment of reinforcement and involving respectable citizens of the area, to restore the normalcy,†said a senior police official.
“Therefore, it is appealed to all citizens of Delhi to co-operate with Delhi Police in maintaining peace and harmony in the city. They are also advised not to lend an ear to rumour mongers and unverified messages being circulated on Social Media. It is also urged that social media platforms should be used with responsibility. Public cooperation is solicited in maintaining peace,†said the senior police official.
A resident in Maujpur said that this is the first time in 35 years -- possibly since the 1984 anti-Sikh riots -- that he has seen a situation such as this. “The area had always remained peaceful,†he said.
Five stations on the Delhi Metro’s Pink Line were closed for the second consecutive day on Tuesday in the wake of the trouble. Amit Sharma, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Shahdara, underwent an operation on Monday night for the head injury sustained during the clashes. A delegation comprising members of the Jamia Coordination Committee, Jawaharlal Nehru Union Students’ Union, Pinjra Tod, met senior police officials and deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia late on Monday night to raise concerns about the situation.
