The death toll in the Delhi’s communal violence has gone up to 42 now with four more fatalities being recorded at the city’s GTB Hospital. The number stood at 38 till yesterday.
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.
A total of 123 FIRs were registered and 630 people were either arrested or detained so far in connection with the violence, the Delhi Police said.
Delhi Police, who were criticised for ineffective de-escalation efforts, issued an appeal yesterday, 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:
123 FIRs registered, over 600 held: Delhi Police
A total of 123 FIRs 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.
Delhi Police spokesperson Mandeep Singh Randhawa said forensic science laboratory teams have been called in and the crime scenes are being revisited.
With four more deaths, Delhi violence toll rises to 42
The death toll in Delhi’s communal violence has gone up to 42 now with four more fatalities being recorded at the city’s GTB Hospital on Friday, officials said. The number stood at 38 till Thursday .
The Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital has recorded 38 deaths, the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash hospital three, and the Jag Pravesh Chandra Hospital has reported one..
Delhi govt. announces ₹25,000 ex gratia for those who have lost homes
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announces 25 thousand cash ex gratia immediately from tomorrow for those who have lost homes so that they may start rebuilding their lives.
Most people in riot affected areas are staying at relatives places but we have opened nine homeless shelters for the rehabilitation of those who have lost homes. We have also appointed 18 magistrates, four night magistrates for assistance of riot-affected people, he adds.
L-G visits riot-hit areas
Delhi's Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal is touring the riot-hit areas of northeast Delhi.
"I have come here to see myself how things are on ground," Mr. Baijal told newsagency ANI from Maujpur.
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.
Congress has constituted a five-member team to visit the riot-hit areas of north-east Delhi. The team comprising Mukul Wasnik, Shaktisinh Gohil, Sushmita Dev, Tariq Anwar and Kumari Selja will submit a report to part president Sonia Gandhi.
Delhi's GTB hospital has reported three more deaths, taking the toll to 42. On Friday alone, four deaths have been reported.
Forensics officials at riot-hit Chand Bagh. 
Officials from forensics department collect samples from riot-hit areas of north east Delhi.
Delhi's Lt. Governor Anil Baijal would be visiting the violence-affected areas later in the day, the Raj Niwas said.
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 rumours, 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.
S.N. Shrivastava to be next Delhi police commissioner
Senior IPS officer S N Shrivastava will be the next Delhi police commissioner, officials said on Friday.Incumbent Amulya Patnaik demits office on Saturday.
39 dead
The GTB Hospital reported one death on Friday, taking the toll in the northeast Delhi violence to 39. As many as 25 people were brought dead to the hospital in the last week, while 10 succumbed to injuries while undergoing treatment.
Lok Nayak Hospital has reported three deaths so far, while Jag Prakash hospital has reported one death.
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.
National Commission for Women team to visit Jaffrabad
A team of the National Commission for Women, including chairperson Rekha Sharma, will visit Jaffrabad on Friday to look into any cases of assault on women during the recent communal violence in northeast Delhi, according to a member.
A member of the NCW said Sharma and two members will visit Jaffrabad to look into any grievance or assault on women during the violence in past four days.
- PTI
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 organisations 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 Organisation 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 .
The Delhi police were missing, Hindus and Muslims agree
Some shops are still slowly smoking , in others people could be seen examining what is salvageable. Charred vehicles litter the road at the crossing of Mustafabad-Shiv Vihar in north-east Delhi. Even once mighty steel almirahs dot the patchy road.
At major crossings in Jaffrabad, Ganga Vihar, Shiv Vihar and Gokulpuri, police pickets can be seen. In Gokulpuri, most shops are open while in Mustafabad where many shops and a school were gutted, it’s not business as usual.
Delhi police and Rapid Action Force personnel are deployed in many areas, with local residents making arrangements to feed them. People with metal buckets and paper plates were going around, feeding policemen.
Hindu teen recounts how Muslim neighbours stood guard for him
Seventeen-year-old Harsh Singh was home alone on Monday afternoon when clashes broke out a few metres away from his residence in north-east Delhi’s Khajoori Khas. His “Wahab bhai” and another neighbour pushed him inside the house to make sure he was safe.
Harsh Singh at his residence in north-east Delhi’s Khajoori Khas on Thursday.
Hearing the commotion on the street outside on Monday, Harsh, a Class X student, ran out of the house. Stickers reading “Om Namah Shivay” and “Ram Ram” had been pasted on their door. “I was standing outside when I found people pelting stones at each other. Bhabhi and Wahab bhai came and asked me to go inside and also said that I should inform them in case I face a problem,” he said, referring to his neighbours, who belong to the Muslim community. The woman was not found at her residence when The Hindu visited it.
14-year-old, who was presumed dead, survives bullet injury
Presumed dead after being hit by a bullet on the back near his spine and brought to the hospital over two hours later, 14-year-old Faizan is now stable and is recovering at ward number 11 of GTB Hospital here on Thursday.
“The boy had allegedly come out of his house to get breakfast on Tuesday morning when he got caught in the mob and fell on the ground. He later got up and was hit on the back. We found him on the roadside,” said a journalist, who along with locals in the area managed to get the boy admitted in the hospital.
How will I explain to the students, asks teacher of torched school
Arun Modern Senior Secondary School and a madrasa, located in Farooqi Mosque on the same street in Brijpuri area, were vandalised and torched by mobs on Tuesday.
Arun Modern Senior Secondary School and a madrasa in Brijpuri were vandalised and torched by mobs on Tuesday.
“Your home: Your Sweet Home; School: Your Second Home” reads the charred remnants of a textbook in the library of the burnt school where around 1,000 students are enrolled.
“I don’t know why they targeted the school. The signs of violence are present in every corner of the institute. They burnt down the computer laboratory, library, classrooms, toilets, school bus. Records of all students have been gutted,” said a teacher, who wished not to be named.
Published - February 28, 2020 10:37 am IST
