SOURCE: HT
The violence in north-east Delhi Monday was most likely orchestrated to coincide with US President Donald Trump’s 36-hour visit to the country, people familiar with the development said Monday, articulating the home ministry’s assessment of clashes.
Condemning the violence, the minister of state for home affairs G Kishan Reddy, tweeted, “We assure a stern action against the culprits,” he said in a tweet. Union home secretary Ajay Bhalla said the situation was under control. “Senior officers are on the field… Sufficient forces have been deployed,” he told reporters.
At least eight companies — each comprising 100 personnel — of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), including two specialised riot controls companies of Rapid Action Force (RAF) and a company of the women soldiers were deployed in the area on Sunday. In addition, several companies of the central paramilitary forces have been deployed in Delhi for Trump’s visit.
Delhi Police commissioner Amluya Patnaik briefed home ministry officials, including the home secretary, over the phone, officials confirmed.
Around 7pm, an hour after an uneasy calm had settled over the violence-hit Maujpur locality, a group of police and paramilitary personnel sat huddled near barricades. Nearby, hundreds of men and women held a gathering, voicing their support for the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
At the centre of the gathering, a tall man with a microphone asked the gathering to “keep out the media”. The crowd bellowed “shoot the traitors” and “hail mother India” even as hundreds of residents from Muslim dominated neighbourhoods, such as Kabir Nagar and Kardampuri, watched from their balconies.
Hours after the police claimed they had the situation under control in north-east Delhi, localities like Maujpur, Babarpur, Chand Bagh, Jafrabad, Gokulpuri, Bhajanpura, Karawal Nagar and Mustafabad continued to remain tense.
“We will not leave this place until we settle scores. Ours too will be a round-the-clock protest like the one in Shaheen Bagh,” Deepak Kumar, from the pro-CAA gathering in Maujpur, said.
By 8pm, they had run out of slogans and started playing patriotic songs, even as new leaders joined in and asked the gathering to maintain peace.
“Joining the gathering is our duty,” Lakhan Ram, an electrician who works at a shop in Gokalpuri, said.
Mohammad Sajid, a resident of Kabir Nagar, countered this. “What exactly are they protesting against? The government has already cleared the CAA. As far as the anti-CAA protests are concerned, they have set the protesters’ tent on fire. What is left now – other than fear among the people who reside here?”
Earlier in the day, some rioters had set fire to a makeshift tent in Kardampuri, where a group of women protesting against amended citizenship law had staged a sit-in protest for the past one month.
By 9pm, these localities had witnessed several rallies organised by groups chanting slogans. While the police did not let them use the main road, they passed through the lanes.
The situation turned more tensed when the news of fire at Gokalpuri tyre market spread and most residents accessed images and videos on their phones.
Senior officials of the Delhi Fire Service said the fire may not have been set separately and was a result of the scattered fires in the area.
Nearly 30 fire tenders were sent to the spot. “Around 20 shops were gutted,” a fire official said.
Joint commissioner of police (eastern range) Alok Kumar said there was tension in the area since Sunday afternoon and police have continuously ensured heavy deployment at strategic locations. “Stray incidents of violence were reported since last night from pockets of Kardampuri, Chand Bagh, Wazirabad, Shiv Vihar, Karawal Nagar, Jafrabad, Seelampur and other nearby places.”
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