The riots have killed 22 and at least 200 injured. Ajit Doval has been put in charge of restoring normalcy in the Northeastern part of Delhi.
New Delhi| NSA’s Ajit Doval has been put in charge of bringing normalcy to violence-hit NE Delhi. This has raised questions since Delhi Police reports directly to Home Minister Amit Shah.
There are enough forces on the ground and no one needs to fear, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval told NDTV after he took stock of the situation in a part of Delhi that saw unrelenting violence over citizenship law protests since Sunday. The riots have killed 22 and at least 250 injured.
Government sources have said the violence appears to have been “orchestrated” since it came at a time when US President Donald Trump was visiting the country. Trump was asked for his reaction to the violence and said he had not discussed it with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as it is “up to India” to deal with it”. However, he did say America appreciated PM Modi’s efforts to ensure religious freedom in India.
Doval, who visited areas affected by the violence late Tuesday night, said: “no law-abiding citizen would be harmed anyway by anyone”.
“People were doubting the capabilities and intentions of the Delhi Police. This needs to addressed. People need to trust the man in uniform,” Mr Doval told NDTV.
Delhi Police has been heavily criticised for apparent inaction when the violence unfolded and for deploying inadequate forces on the ground.
Also Read: US Report raises concern over India’s religious freedom
Mr Doval visited violence-hit areas such as Seelampur, Jaffrabad, Maujpur and Gokulpuri Chowk in northeast Delhi to take stock of the law and order situation and met with top police officers.
“A certain amount of insecurity was there in citizens. We want to dispel a sense of fear from all communities,” Doval said, attempting to reach out to the minority communities.
National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval: My message is that everyone who loves their country – also loves their society, their neighbour. Everyone should live with love and harmony with others. People should try to resolve each other's problems and not increase them. https://t.co/ry9mk0b2vY
— ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2020
On Tuesday, the Home Ministry had earlier said the situation was under control even as the number of people killed in the violence kept rising during the day. Ruling out the deployment of the army to end violence, it had said enough police and paramilitary personnel were on the ground.
With the violence spiralling on Tuesday, Home Minister Amit Shah chaired a meeting with cops and officials on Tuesday evening, his third in 24 hours. The meeting was also attended by top IPS officer SN Srivastava, who was appointed as the special police commissioner on Tuesday.
(Inputs from NDTV)
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