NEW DELHI: Riot-hit northeast Delhi remained tense but calm on Thursday even as the riots left at least 35 people dead in its wake, the police set up two Special Investigation Teams (SIT) to probe the violence.
The mayhem also claimed its first political casualty on Thursday with the Aam Aadmi Party suspending its councillor Tahir Hussain, who has been accused of murdering Intelligence Bureau staffer Ankit Sharma in Khajuri Khas area on Tuesday. The AAP action came after the police filed a first information report (FIR) against him based on a complaint from Ankit’s family, which prompted AAP head and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to assert that no culprit must be spared. Hussain, however, rejected the charge.
By taking prompt action, Kejriwal got to claim the high moral ground, putting the BJP under pressure, as its leader Kapil Mishra’s alleged hate speech on Sunday last lit the fuse of the riots. Delhi’s calm was broken on that day after a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act in the Maujpur-Babarpur Metro station area turned violent. The attacks began shortly after Mishra allegedly warned of impending chaos if the police failed to clear the road of protesters within three days.
After being taken to task by Delhi High Court judge S Muralidhar on Wednesday for inaction over hate speech, the police informed the court on Thursday that they have taken a conscious decision not to file FIRs against anyone at this stage as it would not be conducive to restoring peace. While Justice Muralidhar gave the police just one day to take a call on filing FIRs on hate speech, the new High Court bench led by Chief Justice D N Patel put off the matter by four weeks.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing Delhi Police, urged the judiciary not to intervene till full normalcy is restored. He informed the court that 48 FIRs have been lodged in connection with the riots. Also, 514 suspects have been detained/arrested till now. The court was hearing a PIL filed by activist Harsh Mander. It also accepted Tushar Mehta’s request to implead the Centre in the PIL. Meanwhile, roads were much busier in most parts of northeast Delhi on Thursday with public transport vehicles and the Metro station functioning normally.
I am not the attacker, says AAP councillor
Suspended AAP councillor Tahir Hussain claimed on Thursday that he was the “target” and “not the attacker” in the violence that erupted in northeast Delhi’s Chand Bagh. His remarks came after a number of videos surfaced on social media, showing people allegedly throwing petrol bombs and stones from his rooftop. Following the surfacing of the videos, Delhi Police sealed Hussain’s house besides registering an FIR against him. “I requested the police to be present in the area as my building was being targeted and could be used for wrongful purposes.
Delhi Police was present at the building, only they can tell what happened. I had to leave fearing attack by rioters,” Hussain said. “I worked to stop violence, I’m innocent. I stopped people from climbing my building,” he added. Police said that the matter is being investigated separately and CCTV footage from the area are being accessed.
Councillor Tahir Hussain now in the line of fire
FIR filed against AAP councillor Tahir Hussain over alleged role in the murder of Intelligence Bureau staffer Ankit Sharma Sharma’s body was found in a drain near his home in Chand Bagh area. His family accused Tahir of murdering him Videos of the terrace of a building owned by Tahir being used by rioters went viral According to police sources, Ankit Sharma’s body had at least 250 stab wounds