This Article is From Feb 26, 2020

Home Minister Amit Shah Holds 3rd Meeting In 24 Hours Over Delhi Clashes

The meeting was also attended by Indian Police Service (IPS) officer SN Srivastava, who was appointed as the special police commissioner.

Home Minister Amit Shah Holds 3rd Meeting In 24 Hours Over Delhi Clashes

Amit Shah has cancelled his Wednesday trip to Kerala (File)

New Delhi:

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who oversees law and order in Delhi, held his third meeting within 24 hours over violence in the northeastern part of the national capital. The meeting was also attended by Indian Police Service (IPS) officer SN Srivastava, who was appointed as the special police commissioner on Tuesday.

The meeting came hours after Mr Shah discussed the law and order situation with Delhi's Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Commissioner of Police Amulya Patnaik, Congress leader Subhash Chopra, BJP's Manoj Tiwari and Ramvir Bidhuri. In the meeting, Mr Shah had urged the leaders to rise above politics to tackle the situation, news agency ANI reported.

Late at night, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval also visited the office of Deputy Commissioner of Police, Northeast Delhi, to take a review of the situation.

Mr Shah, meanwhile, has cancelled his Wednesday trip to Kerala.

13 people have been killed and more than 150 - including a child - injured as armed mobs rampaged through parts of northeast Delhi on Tuesday, looting and burning buildings and vehicles.

Smoke was seen rising from buildings and streets were strewn with rocks and broken glasses after three days of violence between pro- and anti-citizenship law protesters.

The Home Ministry had earlier said the situation was under control even as the number of people killed in the violence kept rising throughout the day. Ruling out deployment of Army to end violence, it had said enough police and paramilitary personnel were on the ground.

The police have appealed to the people of Delhi to ignore rumours and unverified messages being circulated on social media related to the violence.

"Delhi Police is making all earnest efforts, including deployment of reinforcement and involving respectable citizens of the area, to restore the normalcy," they said in a statement tweeted from their official handle.

"Delhi Police has kept strict vigil on such mischievous elements and miscreants. Strict legal action will be taken against those who are found involved in these incidents. It is also urged that social media platforms should be used with responsibility. Public cooperation is solicited in maintaining peace," it added.

With inputs from agencies

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