Delhi Violence

Delhi violence: Death toll hits 42

Independent Online/THE HINDU 

 

28 February, 2020 04:02:49 PM / LAST MODIFIED: 29 February, 2020 09:20:11 AM 

 

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The Independent

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People were killed and injured, shops gutted and vehicles torched as mobs took to the streets, escalating the tensions over the Citizenship Amendment Act.
After days of violent protests in which at least 38 were killed and around 200 injured, northeast Delhi witnessed relative calm on Friday. The toll has risen to 42 with four more death reported. Shops were gutted, vehicles torched and families displaced as mobs took to the streets, escalating the tensions over the Citizenship Amendment Act.

Delhi police, who was criticised for ineffective de-escalation efforts, issued an appeal on Thursday, requesting people, including media persons, to come forward and give their statements and share video footage in connection with the violence. Documented here is how the situation in Delhi deteriorated on February 25, 26 and 27.

Here are the latest updates:

Please don’t preach us ‘rajdharma’: BJP tells Sonia

The BJP on Friday hit back at Congress president Sonia Gandhi for reminding the Centre of its ‘rajdharma’, as it alleged that the communal violence in northeast Delhi was an outcome of “instigation” by Opposition leaders.

Addressing a press conference at the party office, BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said Shah was very proactive from the very first day of the violence to stop it.

Asked about controversial remarks made by the BJP leaders like Kapil Mishra and Pravesh Verma, Prasad said the party doesn’t approve such statements.

“Sonia Gandhi, please don’t preach us ‘rajdharma’; your record is full of twists and turns,” Prasad said, while adding that NPR was started by the Congress-led regime.

“If Congress does something, it is good. But if we do the same thing, they provoke the people. What type of rajdharma is this?” he asked.

Northeast Delhi mosques appeal for peace

Local mosques in northeast Delhi appealed on Friday for maintaining peace and harmony in the riot-hit area.

The mosques appealed to people to be united and not fall prey to rumors, urging people to report about suspicious people to the authorities and cooperate with the police.

“In case of any emergency, please call on 112,” the announcement said.

Strict vigil in violence-hit areas of northeast Delhi

Police and paramilitary personnel maintaining strict vigil in northeast Delhi in view of Friday prayers at mosques.

regular flag marches and interactions in the neighbourhoods of affected areas as confidence-building measures.

In some areas of northeast Delhi, signs of normal life were witnessed with opening of shops. In violence-hit areas also, shops in streets and bylanes were open.

Nearly 7,000 paramilitary forces have been deployed in the affected areas of the northeast district since Monday. Besides, hundreds of Delhi police personnel are on the ground to maintain peace and prevent any untoward incident.

International criticism ‘misleading and inaccurate’, says India

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) condemned widespread international criticism of the Delhi violence as “misleading and inaccurate” and urged various leaders in the U.S., media, and international organizations not to make “irresponsible comments at a sensitive time” for India.
On February 27, the government faced statements from the U.S. Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), several Democrat and Republican leaders in addition to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on the communal violence since February 24 that has left at least 38 people dead.