Delhi On Alert Over Gurugram Violence, Faridabad Route Blocked; Plea in SC Seeks to Stop Rallies

The Delhi Police has increased security in the sensitive areas of the national capital amid the violence in Gurugram and neighbouring state of Haryana.

A senior police official said that the Delhi Police keeps a tab on the incidents occurring in the neighbouring states and areas that may possibly impact the national capital. Additional forces have been deployed in the places where the extra need is felt by police officials.

Amid communal violence in Haryana and Gurugram, the Bajrang Dal and Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) have blocked the route between Delhi and neighbouring Faridabad. The protests have caused traffic jams at Vikas Marg which connects east Delhi to the central parts of the city.

The Bajrang Dal-VHP protests have reached Delhi’s Ghonda Chowk and as chaos ensues, a plea has been in the Supreme Court to put an end to these rallies in Delhi-NCR.

The plea has been filed as an Interlocutory Application (IA) in a pending writ petition regarding hate speeches. According to Live Law, Senior Advocate Chander Uday Singh mentioned the application for urgent listing before Justice Aniruddha Bose as the Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and next senior judges are sitting in a bench for the hearing of Article 370 case.

The senior Advocate has told Justice Bose that the VHP has announced 27 marches against the violence in Nuh and neighbouring areas. However, Justice Aniruddha Bose has asked Singh to get a confirmation in this regard, reports.

The Delhi Police is anticipating that the protests will not involve a large number of gatherings and will more of a symbolic gesture, while the Vishva Hindu Parishad group is expecting widespread participation despite it being a working day.

The force is prepared to respond to any situation arising in the state as a result of such incidents in neighbourhood areas, a police officer said. Meetings with peace committees are also being held by the police force.

The Bajrang Dal members held a demonstration near Delhi’s Nirman Vihar metro station after VHP called for a protest against the violence in Nuh.

Karol Bagh, Patel Nagar, Lajpat Nagar, Mayur Vihar, Mukherjee Nagar, Moti Nagar, Narela, Nangloi, Tilak Nagar, Najafgarh, etc., are some of the areas that have been earmarked for the protests. Of these, some localities are considered ‘hypersensitive’ by officials and are close to the Haryana border.

Visibly police postings have been increased in areas with mixed population. The Delhi Police in a tweet said, “Keeping North Delhi safe & serene! Police deploy cutting-edge drone survey to watch over the area, ensuring harmony prevails and public safety remains top-notch.”

Foot patrolling is being done in several areas and barricades are being placed at bordering areas, where regular checking is also taking place.

Although, as night hours are more uncertain, top district officials will have to be present at those times as miscreants can try to disturb the law and order situation.

In a fresh case of communal violence, a mob set fire to an eatery and vandalised adjoining shops in Gurugram’s Badshahpur on Tuesday afternoon. the mob ransacked some shops belonging to a particular community and also chanted “Jai Shri Ram” in front of a mosque in Badshahpur.

The Badshahpur market was also shut down. Gurugram police reached the spot after receiving information of the violence, but the rioters managed to flee the scene on their bikes and vehicles. Officials said that some suspects have been detained.

Internet services have been shut down and section 144 has been imposed in Nuh and Gurugram.

Intelligence Bureau (IB) officials during a meeting on Tuesday, hinted that protests could turn violent in Haryana and some more incidents are likely to be reported.

So far, six people have been killed in the violence that ensued in Haryana. One injured Bajrang Dal activist died. Four people, including two home guards, died in the Nuh district, while a naib imam was killed at a mosque in Gurugram.

(With inputs from PTI)