Jahangirpuri violence: Delhi Police chief says no bid to plant saffron flag on mosque
Darpan News Desk IANS, 18 Apr, 2022 10:04 AM
New Delhi, April 18 (IANS) There is no evidence for the theory that a bid to plant saffron flags at a mosque led to violence in Delhi's Jahangirpuri but was "a minor argument which later took the shape of massive violence", Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana said on Monday.
"The people who are saying that someone attempted to plant a flag there... it is not true," he said at a press briefing on the Jahangirpuri communal violence.
He said it is too soon to tell what the reason for provocation was . "This is part of the investigation. I can't tell you anything because the investigation is yet to be completed," he said.
Asked again about planting the saffron flag, Asthana said: "It is not right. There was no such thing."
However, Jamiat-Ulema-e-Hind's Delhi state General Secretary Abdul Raziq, who visited the site of the violence along with a delegation on Sunday, told IANS that when the third procession was passing near the mosque, some miscreants tried to enter and place a 'saffron flag' at the gate of the mosque.
Asthana also said that at the time of violence the police were present in adequate numbers and initially even managed to separate both the groups.
"Nine people, including 8 cops, were injured in the clashes. This shows that the police efficiently did their job which prevented any injury to the public," he added.
The protest, which was led by BJP Yuva Morcha's national secretary Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga and its national president Tejasvi Surya, started around 10.30 a.m. from the IP College to the Chief Minister's residence.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on March 27 had announced that Central Civil Service Rules will be implemented for all employees under Chandigarh Administration. This decision has evoked sharp criticism from Punjab leaders who, cutting across party lines, termed it "an encroachment on Punjab's rights".
At a meeting with the Punjab Revenue Officers Association here, the minister assured representatives of the association that all their demands will be considered sympathetically, while asking them to immediately join their offices in larger public interest.
Chairing a high-level review meeting with officials of the NRI Affairs Department and members of the NRI Commission, he issued directions that the appointment of the nodal officers should be made in a transparent manner and working of these officers should be reviewed by the Deputy Commissioners on a regular basis.
On March 24, the police received a tip-off that two members of this cartel -- Dinesh and Nazir -- have collected a big consignment of heroin from Jharkhand and would come to Delhi to deliver the supply of contraband to one of their contacts.
