14 more arrested in connection with Northeast Delhi riots
The police have shared identifies of two suspects – Tanvir and Gulfam – who have been booked allegedly for rioting and arson in Chand Bagh area.
Fourteen more people have been arrested in connection with the communal riots in north-east Delhi in which 53 people were killed and more than 400 injured last month. With the latest action, the total number of people arrested in 712 cases registered directly in connection to the riots till Thursday climbed to 229 on Friday.
A police officer privy to the probe said on the condition of anonymity that the 14 arrested were suspected to be involved in five cases, including two murder cases, which are being probed by the SITs set up to probe riots cases. The police have shared identifies of two suspects – Tanvir and Gulfam – who have been booked allegedly for rioting and arson in Chand Bagh area. They refused to disclose the identities of others, saying they were being interrogated to nab other suspects who were with them during the violence.
“Of the 14 persons, some were arrested with the help of face recognition software while those booked under murder charges were identified and caught following the interrogation of the suspects arrested earlier in the cases. Raids are being conducted to nab other suspects who have already been identified but are absconding,” said the officer cited above.
Around 80 people were also detained and many of them were later let off after questioning between Thursday and Friday evening, taking the total number of such detainees to nearly 3,200.
An investigator from the SITs said Tanvir and Gulfam’s role in the riots was corroborated through three-four videos in which they were seen indulging in the violence. “Unlike many people who are seen in the video with their faces covered either with clothes or helmets, the two had not masked themselves. The two are being interrogated to identify others who were with them,” the investigator said.
Meanwhile, scores of cellphones recovered from the arrested persons are being sent to the forensic lab to retrieve deleted data, which the investigators believe may help them ascertain how the rioters were mobilised and who all were behind the conspiracy.