Riot video showing stone pelters cornering police team goes viral

New Delhi: The special investigation teams(SITs) probing the communal violence in north-east Delhi last week have found at least two videos which show groups of

New Delhi: The special investigation teams(SITs) probing the communal violence in north-east Delhi last week have found at least two videos which show groups of rioters attacking police personnel on February 24 and 25. Police said one of videos depict the incident in which deputy commissioner Amit Sharma and his team suffered injuries in heavy stone pelting by the mob at Chand Bagh. The two videos were widely shared on many social media platforms throughout Thursday.

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A head constable was shot dead and several other police officials were injured in the violence that continued for four days in various areas across north-east Delhi. Following heavy loss of life and property, the police had come under severe criticism for failing to anticipate and then control the spiral of violence.

A senior SIT officer confirmed that the person seen being rescued and dragged by a police team towards the end of one video clip is Amit Sharma -- deputy commissioner of police (DCP) of Shahdara. Sharma is currently at a city hospital with critical head injuries. On February 24, Sharma and other senior officers reached the riot-hit areas after the police control room received multiple reports of violent clashes between Hindus and Muslims. On February 24 and 25, the police control room had received at least 10,000 calls related to rioting in the area.

The first video, which appears to have been shot from a nearby building, shows a mob of around 100 cornering around seven police officers on a road. The video shows the mob pelting stones while police fleeing for safety. Another 1 minute 30 second video shows a group of police personnel shoehorned in the middle of the road next to a divider while a mob of at least 100-200 are pelting stones at them.

An SIT officer who is privy investigation details said towards the of 1-minute 17-seconds video, the police are seen dragging one of their officers to safety away from the stone-pelting mob. “That officer is DCP Amit Sharma. One of the cops who saved the DCP is his junior colleague ACP Anuj Kumar. We have been told that DCP Sharma had fallen unconscious on a pavement after the stones hit him in the head. These videos are part of the evidence we have against the rioters,” the officer added.

The video, police said, was recorded in Chand Bagh, one of the worst-riot affected places last week. At least 53 persons have died and around 350 injured in the clashes that broke out between Hindus and Muslims in different parts of north-east Delhi on February 23, 24 and 25.

Delhi police spokesperson, MS Randhawa confirmed that police have seized many videos related to the riots. “The videos are a part of the evidence. The SIT is looking into it,” the officer said.