Delhi Violence: 123 FIRs Registered, 630 People Either Arrested Or Detained As Death Toll Rises

A total of 123 first information reports were registered and 630 people were either arrested or detained so far in connection with the northeast Delhi communal violence, the Delhi Police spokesperson said on Friday.

Delhi Police spokesperson Mandeep Singh Randhawa said forensic science laboratory teams have been called in and the crime scenes are being revisited.

Meanwhile, the death toll in Delhi’s communal violence has gone up to 42. The Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital has recorded 38 deaths, the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash hospital three, and the Jag Pravesh Chandra Hospital has reported one.

Nearly 7,000 paramilitary personnel have been deployed in the affected areas of the northeast district since Monday to assist hundreds of Delhi police men and women to maintain peace. More than 250 people have been injured in the communal clashes. The areas mainly affected include Jafrabad, Maujpur, Chand Bagh, Khureji Khas and Bhajanpura.

On Thursday, clouds of smoke cleared to reveal the extent of the damage from the worst riots in the city in more than three decades and people gingerly stepped out for work and opened shops and other establishments.

While civic workers swept the streets and bylanes of northeast Delhi littered with bricks, broken glass and other detritus of three days of communal clashes, some shopkeepers sorted through the charred remains of their vandalised and burnt shops.

Police and paramilitary personnel maintained strict vigil in view of Friday prayers at mosques.

Shops and other establishments opened in some places and more private vehicles were seen on roads. Autos and e-rickshaws also began plying in some areas as people stepped out of their homes to get back to work or catch up on essential errands.

Officials also said they were making extra efforts to quell rumours, and were holding regular flag marches and interactions in the neighbourhoods of affected areas as confidence-building measures.

Outreach Programme

The police have also initiated an “outreach programme” on Friday as part of which its officials met priests of various mosques in the riot-hit northeast Delhi.

The exercise was carried by senior officials outside mosques in Kardampuri and Kabir Nagar. These areas witnessed pitched battle between two communities on Tuesday and Wednesday.

During the meeting, senior police officers were briefed about the recent riots.

The policemen posted in these areas briefed senior officials that people of these two areas, which witnessed large scale violence from Tuesday, have been generally peaceful and it was the "outsiders" from adjoining areas such as Seelampur and Jaffrabad who indulged in violence.

Senior police officials were asked to take stock of the situation, especially keeping in mind that it was a Friday and some miscreants may take advantage of large gatherings to engineer unrest again, they said

The senior officials assured that police will take every action against the miscreants and ensure safety of locals.