Uttam Nagar: Police presence to continue till Navratri

Police maintain heightened security in Uttam Nagar's Hastsal Colony after tensions from a recent killing, monitoring social media for communal harmony.

New Delhi: Following uneasy Eid celebrations on Saturday, a scaled-down but persistent police deployment continued in Uttam Nagar’s Hastsal JJ Colony on Sunday, as authorities closely watched sensitive pockets amid simmering tensions over the recent killing of a 26-year-old man in the area.

Authorities closely watch sensitive pockets amid simmering tensions in the area (Sanchit Khanna/ HT)

Deputy commissioner of police (Dwarka) Kushal Pal Singh said on Sunday that security arrangements in the area will continue until the conclusion of the ongoing Navratri festival on Friday, in compliance with Delhi High Court directives.

A senior police officer, requesting anonymity, said: “We have deployed over 200 Delhi Police and paramilitary personnel in and around Hastsal Colony and the routes leading to the neighbourhood. Around the same number of personnel have been kept in reserve for containing any sudden mobilisation and law and order situation.”

The officer added that police teams are keeping a vigil on organisations and individuals across communities who might disrupt communal harmony in the neighbourhood and other parts of the city through rumour mongering and social media posts.

“We are also monitoring social media platforms to identify accounts posting inflammatory and communally-sensitive content and take legal action. More than 60 such social media handles have been suspended over the past three-four days,” he said.

As part of the security arrangements for Eid celebrations on Saturday, nearly 1,500 security personnel were deployed in and around the colony. The move followed calls from some groups and individuals to celebrate Holi in the area, purportedly to avenge the death of 26-year-old Tarun Kumar, who was killed during a clash between two families from different communities on March 4.

Police also detained nearly 110 people from areas and roads around the colony and Uttam Nagar throughout Saturday. Officials said they took these individuals to as many as five police stations in southwest and outer Delhi to prevent any communal clash in the neighbourhoods.

“They were detained under Section 65 of the Delhi Police Act (persons bound to comply with the reasonable directions of police officers) and taken to police stations, including Jafarpur Kalan, Narela, Dwarka Sector-23, Uttam Nagar and Dabri, from which they were released after 10pm. No case was registered,” a police officer said.