Delhi Riots: Crime Branch To Investigate Only Murder Cases, Say Sources

The Delhi Police crime branch will only investigate murder cases that were filed after the violence in northeast part of the national capital, sources said on Wednesday. They said the cases of riots with section pertaining to murder will be investigated by the special investigation team (SIT) of the crime branch, while regular police teams would probe rest of the cases. Police have registered four FIRs against expelled AAP councillor Tahir Hussain and his house was searched and he was found absconding, police said, adding efforts are being made to arrest him.

Shahrukh Pathan, whose picture of pointing a gun at an unarmed policeman during the communal riots in Northeast Delhi went viral, was on Tuesday arrested from Uttar Pradesh's Shamli district. On Wednesday, Pathan was taken to Shamli for the recovery of pistol and other things he used him during the period. Police said the pistol that he had used during the violence to open fire, is yet to be recovered. They are also verifying if any police cases were registered against him outside Delhi. On February 23, clashes broke out between pro and anti-CAA groups near Jaffrabad in northeast Delhi.

The violence in Jaffrabad, Maujpur, Babarpur, Chand Bagh, Shiv Vihar, Bhajan Pura, Yamuna Vihar and Mustafabad areas of northeast Delhi claimed at least 42 lives and left over 200 injured. A large number of properties have been damaged as frenzied mobs had torched houses, shops, vehicles, a petrol pump and pelted stones at locals and police personnel. 

Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi along with other Congress leaders on Wednesday visited a school gutted in communal clashes and interacted with affected people in northeast Delhi where police continued to maintain a tight vigil to restore confidence among residents. The police have been conducting flag march and holding meetings with the locals in Jaffrabad, Maujpur, Babarpur, Chand Bagh, Shiv Vihar, Bhajanpura, Yamuna Vihar and Mustafabad where the violence, that started during the protests over the amended Citizenship Act, was the most intense.

The police said they have registered 531 cases, and 1,647 people have either been detained or arrested. Delhi Police Commissioner SN Shrivastava met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla in Parliament.

"Everything is under control and we are on top of the situation," he told PTI after the hour-long meeting. Hundreds of traumatised people were still staying in relief camps and elsewhere after escaping the violence which erupted on February 23 and continued for the next three days.

Khajuri resident Abdul Wahab, who has taken refuge in Chandu Nagar, said his house was destroyed by rioters and now he is left with no money now. His biggest worry, he said, is how to take care of children now. Shabnam, who also lost her house as well her employment, faces the same problem. "I lost my house in the riots. The scrap shop I worked in was also destroyed. Now I don't know how to sustain," she said.

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) stepped in to help its former jawan Aish Mohammed with a cheque of Rs 11 lakh as his house was damaged in the clashes.