NSA against 5, Delhi BJP chief asks to bulldoze homes of 'rioters'
New Delhi: Out of the at least 23 people arrested (both Hindus and Muslims) for the communal clashes in Jahangirpuri last week, the Delhi Police have now decided to slap charges under the National Security Act against five Muslim accused identified as Ansar, Salim, Imam Sheikh alias Sonu, Dilshad, and Ahir, son of Haneef Khan.
Alarmingly, within hours of this, Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta wrote to North MCD Mayor Raja Iqbal, asking that "illegally-built" homes of "rioters" in the Jahangirpuri violence be bulldozed and that the strictest punishment be meted out to them as soon as possible.
Following this, the North MCD announced that it will be going
on an anti-encroachment drive in Jahangirpuri on Wednesday and Thursday.
Hours before the Delhi Police invoked the NSA against five of the 23 accused in the case, Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana on Monday had said that the investigation in the case was being conducted fairly and professionally citing that people from both sides of the clashes were arrested.
However, as for the FIR against the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal men for holding a provocative procession without permission, no arrest has been made yet. The Delhi Police had issued a note that said they had arrested a local VHP leader but had quickly retracted it, noting that he had just "joined the investigation".
This comes in the wake of information that a delegation of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad met with Commissioner Asthana on April 17, according to a statement issued by the right-wing organisation. The VHP, in their Tuesday statement, said they had spoken to the Commissioner about the FIR against VHP for holding a procession without permission and that the Commissioner had changed his stand after the meeting.
The VHP added that the Commissioner was at first upset that the VHP went ahead with the march despite the Delhi Police denying them permission.
The VHP leaders then said that by this logic, Muslim processions should also not be allowed in Hindu areas and that dividing the city into areas like this would not be good.
Following this, the VHP claimed the Commissioner had "changed his stand". This statement came a day after the right-wing organisation said that the Delhi Police should prepare for "battle" if any member of their organisation was prosecuted in relation to the violence.
And following the precedent being set in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, North MCD councillor Adesh Gupta has now asked the Mayor to bulldoze homes of people accused of rioting "as soon as possible".
In his letter to the Mayor, Gupta claimed that the accused living there were purportedly under AAP's protection and had thus allegedly built "illegal" accommodations. He then went on to ask the Mayor to identify alleged illegal structures owned by the accused and bulldoze them thereafter.
