NEW DELHI: A day after clashes broke out during a Hanuman Jayanti procession in Jahangirpuri, Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta alleged on Sunday that the violence was the result of the AAP government aiding illegal stay of Rohingya and Bangladeshi immigrants while an AAP MLA said it was wrong to target one community.
Gupta also claimed that one of the arrested accused in the violence was an AAP activist. Gupta, accompanied by North West Delhi MP Hansraj Hans and Leader of Opposition in Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, visited the police personnel injured in the violence Saturday evening.
"Jahangirpuri incident is a result of the Kejriwal government providing free power, water and ration to Rohingya (refugees) and Bangladeshis living illegally here," Gupta told reporters during his visit to the violence-hit areas.
The AAP's reaction to Gupta's charges was not immediately available, but Delhi Waqf Board chairman and AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan said that targeting one community was "wrong" and whoever was guilty for the violence should be punished.
Eight Delhi Police personnel and a civilian were injured in stone pelting and firing on Saturday evening while the procession was passing through C Block of Jahangirpuri. "Pelting stones, taking out swords, firing at the procession on Hanuman Jayanti are shameful. One of the accused in the incident, Ansar, is an AAP activist and there are photographs of him with many AAP MLAs," Gupta charged.
Gupta said the Delhi Police stood like a wall to foil a "big conspiracy" in time. Khan said that holding a particular community responsible for the Jahangirpuri incident was wrong and asked whether it was right to forcibly enter a mosque and instal a saffron flag on it.
"We want to ask Delhi Police whether the persons it has arrested in connection with Jahangirpuri incident include those who were carrying guns. When will Delhi Police arrest the Bajrang Dal and RSS men who were openly waiving guns," Khan asked in a tweet.
Twenty people, including the "main conspirators", were arrested over the violence in northwest Delhi's Jahangirpuri, where an uneasy calm prevailed on Sunday as companies of anti-riot police patrolled the streets and people largely stayed indoors.
Two juveniles have also been apprehended in connection with the clashes, police said, adding that the case has been transferred to the Crime Branch for further investigation. To cool tensions, the Delhi Police held a meeting with members of Aman (peace) Committees, and asked them to counter any rumours and appeal to people in their areas to maintain peace.
One of the "main conspirators" behind the violence, Ansar (35), a resident of Jahangirpuri, was also found to be involved in two cases of assault and was arrested a few times under preventive sections, a police officer said.