Delhi Police detains people for spreading rumours of fresh violence, appeals for peace

Since evening, rumours have been flying about the beginning of riots at several areas of Delhi.

New Delhi: The Delhi Police on Sunday (March 1, 2020) detained a few people for spreading rumours about rekindling of violence in the city. They urged citizens to not pay attention to such rumours and requested people to not panic and appealed to maintain peace and calm.

Delhi Police PRO MS Randhawa informed media that some people have been detained for rumour-mongering. "Strict action will be taken against those who spread rumours and hate speech. Cases under relevant sections will be registered against them," he said.

Rumours of violence being reported from across different places in Delhi were spread on social media platforms on Sunday evening which instigated fear of riots among the citizens. Several people were seen closing their shops and rushing home. 

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As per rumours, incidents of rioting has been reported from many areas like Rohini Avantika, Mangolpuri towards outer Delhi, Rajouri and Khyala in the west; Jaitpur, Jasola, Madanpur Khadar in South East Delhi.

Due to the closure of some metro stations, the rumours got a boost, however, within 20 minutes all the metro stations were reopened.

The Delhi Police has made it clear that no violence, stone-pelting or any untoward incident has taken place, and requested the people to ignore the rumours.

Special Cell of the Delhi Police also quashed the rumours and insisted that citizens can call 100/112 for clarification. The tweet said: "Concerted efforts were made over the evening by mischievous and anti-social elements to create panic in Delhi by spreading false rumours of rioting over various social media platforms. In truth, there was nothing. Please remember that such activities over internet leave digital footprints. Instigating a riot can have severe consequences... And severe criminal liability follows.. Please be responsible citizens.. Verify from trusted sources before forwarding any message... Check our social media handles or call 100/112 for clarifications."

Taking to microblogging site Twitter, Delhi Police wrote: "Some unsubstantiated reports of tense situation in SouthEast & West District are being circulated on social media. It is to reiterate that these are all rumours. Don't pay attention to such rumours. Delhi Police is closely monitoring accounts spreading rumours and taking action."

Some unsubstantiated reports of tense situation in SouthEast & West District are being circulated on social media. It is to reiterate that these are all rumours. Don't pay attention to such rumours. Delhi Police is closely monitoring accounts spreading rumours and taking action. — Delhi Police (@DelhiPolice) March 1, 2020

Delhi DCP Central Sanjay Bhatia said, "There is no violence at all in areas like Baljit Nagar, Patel Nagar, ignore these rumours there is peace in Central Delhi.

East Delhi MP Gautam Gambhir too made an appeal for people to remain calm and not to fall prey to rumours. He said, "I urge all Delhiites to not fall prey of any rumours around and maintain peace and harmony. Everything is normal."

Keeping the safety and security in mind, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) had closed some metro stations but as now the exit and entry gates have been reopened for public. Entry and exit gates of Tilak Nagar, Nangloi, Surajmal Stadium, Badarpur, Tughlakabad, Uttam Nagar west and Nawada which were closed earlier are now reopened.

Earlier today, two dead bodies were recovered from a drain in Gokulpuri, one of the riot-hit areas of the northeast district in Delhi, taking the total number of deaths in the violence to 44. 

In Shaheen Bagh, section 144 was imposed in the wake of the violent incident and heavy security was deployed. At least 1,000 jawans and 12 companies of paramilitary forces have been posted in the area after the imposition of the prohibitory orders by the authorities.

The violent clashes that rocked the northeast district of Delhi has claimed the lives of 44 people and left more than 250 people injured. The riots started after reports of stone-pelting incidents at Maujpur Chowk in Jafarabad area between pro and anti-ACC protesters on Sunday (February 23, 2020). Later, the clashes escalated to several parts of the northeast Delhi constituency. However, there are still a large number of people missing in the violence.