Crime branch to probe 47 murder cases, 369 FIRs filed

New Delhi: Death toll in the Delhi violence rose to 47, on Monday, with the police fishing out another body from a canal in the riot-affected Northeast Delhi.

Lieutenant-governor (L-G) Anil Baijal visited the riot-affected areas to take stock of the situation and interacted with the locals. He also briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the prevailing law and order situation in the national capital.

The police, which got over 1,880 distress calls on Sunday from people panicked over riot-related rumours like violence, arson, and stone pelting, arrested 40 people on charges of spreading fake reports.

The police has registered 369 FIRs including 44 cases of Arms Act and arrested or detained 1,284 persons in connection with the violence.

Seven days after the violence, the Delhi Minority Commission visited the riot affected areas.

Zafarul Islam Khan, the chairman of the commission, said: “It is a planned attack and was allowed to happen. We will provide everything to the victims.”

He further said, “The compensation provided by the government is not enough and we will urge the government to increase it. We will be meeting the ministers in the coming days.”

The police has claimed to have arrested and detained 21 miscreants from Northwest Delhi and one in Rohini. Action has been initiated against 18 persons in South Delhi.

Meanwhile, the Delhi police said that 21 cases were registered under cyber-crime, which includes cases related to spreading of hate messages.Acting Delhi police commissioner S.N. Shrivastava appealed to people to not spread rumours and disturb communal harmony and peace in the national capital. His remark came a day after panic gripped residents of several parts of Delhi following false rumours of violence.

Six cases have been registered in connection with rumour mongering and investigation is underway, he said.

The crime branch will probe the 47 murder cases.

However, the department is facing some difficulties in the investigation as it is unable to trace the eyewitnesses of the incidents.

“We met several people in the riot hit areas and no one has come forward to give us authentic and credible evidences so that we can proceed with our investigation. It is feasible to fish out or detain some people for rioting after analysing CCTV footage but not so easy for the murder cases,” sources added.

According to sources, sulphuric acid known as vitriol might have been used by rioters. The police has gone into a tizzy as this acid, which was recovered from Tahir Hussain factory, is sold only through licensed dealers.