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Panic grips Delhi after fresh violence rumours, police say situation normal
Delhi Police said it was closely monitoring the social media accounts that were allegedly spreading rumours of tensions in the city.
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The Delhi Police has denied reports of tensions in parts of Delhi and said rumours were being spread on social media by anti-social elements aimed to create panic among residents on Sunday evening. It said the situation in the capital was peaceful and requested residents to not pay heed to rumours and act responsibly.
The rumours referred to by the police had earlier led to closing down of seven metro stations--Nangloi, Surajmal Stadium, Badarpur, Tughlakabad, Uttam Nagar west, Nawada and Patel Nagar--in the capital. These stations were opened within an hour.
The Delhi Police soon responded by saying that the reports of tension in southeast and west districts were circulated on social media but they were all rumours.
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“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,” a tweet from Delhi police’s official account said.
It also stated that the police force was closely monitoring the social media accounts that were allegedly spreading the rumours.
“Don’t pay attention to such rumours. Delhi Police is closely monitoring accounts spreading rumours and taking action,” it said.
It was followed by an appeal to all the residents in the national capital to act responsibly and help in maintaining peace.
“It is being noticed that some unsocial elements are spreading rumours aimed to disrupt the peace. Residents should neither spread rumours nor believe in them. The law and order situation in Delhi is under complete control and peaceful,” Delhi police tweeted.
Delhi BJP MP Gautam Gambhir also took to Twitter to issue peace appeal, saying everything is normal.
“I urge all Delhiites to not fall prey of any rumours around and maintain peace and harmony. Everything is normal,” Gambhir tweeted.
Senior Delhi police official MS Randhawa said that rumours had led to panic calls to the police control room.
“We’ve received some panic calls from West Delhi, South East Delhi, Madanpur Khadar, Rajouri Garden, Hari Nagar,& Khayala, please don’t entertain them. Situation is normal at these places,” Randhawa was quoted saying by news agency ANI.
42 people including security personnel have died in the Delhi riots between February 23 and 25 and more than 450 people were injured. 203 cases against rioters had been lodged till Saturday evening including 24 cases for murder.
No riot-related deaths were reported on Saturday but a shop was set on fire in the Welcome area, said police.
