The toll in Delhi continued to rise, with 38 fatalities and more than 228 injured as violence, arson and gunfire rocked the city’s north-east region after groups for and against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, or CAA, ran riots for three days, starting Sunday.
“The situation is normal and no incident took place today. Adequate forces have been deployed. As many as 48 first information reports (FIR) have been registered so far and more FIRs are being registered as we are getting more information,” Delhi Police spokesperson M.S. Randhawa said on Thursday.
Delhi Police continued patrolling the violence-affected areas of Jaffrabad, Maujpur-Babarpur, Khajoori Khas, and Gokulpuri, while paramilitary troops carried out flag marches across the district, even as curfew remained in Jaffrabad.
Two special investigation teams were constituted under the Delhi Police’s crime branch on Thursday to probe the violence and take cognizance of all the cases registered. All investigations pertaining to the violence will now be taken over by the two teams, which will be headed by deputy commissioners of police Joy Tirkey and Rajesh Deo.
The Delhi government has announced compensation of ₹10 lakh to the next of kin of those killed and ₹5 lakh in case the deceased was a minor. It will also give ₹2 lakh to the seriously injured, and up to ₹5 lakh to those whose houses were burnt down.
On Thursday, the Delhi High Court adjourned the hearing of a petition filed by activist Harsh Mander till 13 April. The petition sough registration of FIRs against BJP leaders Anurag Thakur, Kapil Mishra and Parvesh Verma for allegedly fanning violence through hate speech.
On Wednesday, a bench headed by Justice S. Muralidhar rapped the Delhi Police for non-registration of FIRs against politicians for alleged hate speeches. The court also granted the police four weeks to file a counter affidavit in a plea for lodging of FIRs against politicians for inciting violence.
In a related development, the Centre late on Wednesday notified the transfer of Justice Muralidhar from Delhi high court to Punjab and Haryana high court, following a recommendation made to this effect by the Supreme Court collegium on 12 February.
The violence was the focus of a political debate with the Congress reiterating its demand for Union home minister Amit Shah’s resignation and the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government criticizing the Opposition for trying to gain political mileage out of the situation.
An 11-member delegation led by Congress president Sonia Gandhi met President Ram Nath Kovind to submit a memorandum. Gandhi alleged that the central government and the newly-elected state government had remained “mute spectators” to the mayhem. The party also demanded that the “life, liberty and property of the citizens is preserved, secured and protected.”
Clashes had broken out on Sunday evening between pro- and anti-CAA groups near Jaffrabad in north-east Delhi. People who had been protesting against the law blocked a road, prompting a domino series of dharnas in others part of Delhi and BJP leader Kapil Mishra demanding that anti-CAA protestors be removed by the police at the earliest.
shaswati.d@livemint.com
Prathma Sharma contributed to this story
