Toll soars to 27 even as violence ebbs

TNN, 27 February 2020, NEW DELHI: The toll in the riots in north-east Delhi climbed to 27 on Wednesday even as the area limped towards normalcy with no major incident of violence reported through the day. The latest victim was a young Intelligence Bureau official, Ankit Sharma, whose body was found floating in a drain in the Chand Bagh area on Wednesday morning.

Sharma worked as a security assistant in IB and had been missing since Tuesday evening. His family has alleged that a local politician was behind his disappearance on Tuesday, soon after he returned home. His neighbours had seen him being carried away by a mob.

Hospital sources said the toll may rise since many of the injured were battling for their lives. GTB Hospital alone has 183 people admitted in various wards with gunshot, stabbing and blunt injuries.

Meanwhile, after a night-long peace-keeping operation, led by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Delhi Police managed to regain control of the area from rioters. The police filed 18 FIRs and arrested 106 people — most of them between Tuesday night and Wednesday — for their involvement in the riots.

Doval was in north-east Delhi since Tuesday night. After planning the course of action for the force, he patrolled the riot-hit areas with the newly-appointed law and order chief S N Shrivastava till early hours, only to return on Wednesday afternoon. He first reviewed developments and then went around visiting residential areas, knocking on peoples’ doors and assuring them safety and security. Doval met residents from both communities and instilled confidence in them. “What has happened has happened.. Inshallah, there will be complete peace here,” he said. When a girl approached Doval to complain about police not doing their work properly, Doval replied firmly: “Karegi.. ab karegi..”

Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, too, visited the riot-hit areas of Shiv Vihar and Karawal Nagar on Wednesday evening. Earlier, he had taken stock of the situation at the office of DCP (Northeast). He also announced a compensation of Rs 1 crore for the family of head constable Ratan Lal who was killed in violence on Monday and promised a government job to a family member.

Delhi Police, it is learnt, has devised a full fledged plan to handle the riots and their aftermath. North-east Delhi has been divided into three zones, each supervised by a joint commissioner who will be assisted by two-three DCP rank officials. The joint commissioner has been given a company whereas the DCP and additional DCP have been given two companies each. The entire riot-hit area has been divided into 10 sectors. The cops and paramilitary forces will patrol these sectors to ensure peace in the interior lanes while another group will be deployed towards the entrance and exit of the lanes.

Hotspots have been identified and extra forces stationed there. On Wednesday, 40 companies of additional forces were deployed in the area with clear instructions to police not to allow any fracas. The police are also contemplating forming an SIT to probe the cases lodged by them.

As a result of Tuesday’s shake-up in Delhi Police, the force seemed much confident and proactive through the day. The changed attitude was visible since morning. Cops patrolled the entire district with the law and order chief leading the team from the front. Route marches were conducted by senior officers in the area and drone surveillance was also carried out extensively. The police scanned rooftops and corners of streets for stones, bottle bombs and weapons.

In the Khureji area, where a group of around 600-700 protesters tried to block the road and indulge in violence, the police moved quickly and dispersed them. Six people leading the mob were arrested.

"No untoward incident was reported on Wednesday and PCR calls from northeast Delhi have reduced," said additional commissioner (Crime) Mandeep Singh Randhawa. The police also released two helpline numbers — 011-22829334 & 22829335 — for people in distress to reach out and also give any information related to violence. “The miscreants who created trouble are being identified. There are CCTV footage and strong evidence,” he added.