NEW DELHI: A protest march was organised by the Delhi Peace Forum, an NGO, at Jantar Mantar against the communal violence that claimed several lives in northeast Delhi. BJP leader Kapil Mishra was also present at the march which was organised under the banner ‘Delhi Against Jehadi Violence’.
With the Tricolor in hand, protesters carried posters of deceased IB staffer Ankit Sharma and Head Constable Ratan Lal demanding action against suspended AAP member and councillor Tahir Hussain and others, for allegedly being involved in the riots.
While protesters raised slogans of “Jai Shri Ram’’ and “Bharat Mata ki Jai’’, some resorted to the infamous “Desh Ke Gaddaron ko...” chant.
Mishra, who himself is accused of spewing hate speech to incite people in Maujpur-Babarpur area earlier this week, garnered attention with his presence at the event, but did not join the sloganeering or address the gathering during the march. Protesters flocked to Mishra to show him support.
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Army veterans at the march took to the stage and spoke about how the violence seemed meticulously planned.
“The materials that are being recovered from the houses show that this violence was planned months in advance. It seems that they planned on attacking the armed security forces as well. It was quite surprising to see some of weapons that were recovered from some of the houses,” said an Army veteran.
The march which began from Jantar Mantar continued to Connaught Place and ended in front of the Parliament Street police station. Meanwhile, a separate gathering was organised in the evening by residents of Dwarka to ensure peace and harmony in the area.
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People gathered there also condemned the attack on a mosque in Dwarka Sector 11 which took place on Friday night.
“Earlier we planned to form a human chain but we were informed that section 144 was imposed and thus we could not do that. A mosque in the area was attacked be some people, it wasn’t a mob, just a handful of people who came in a car and started pelting stones.
We have gathered here to tell that Dwarka is a place where people from all sections of society live peacefully together, “ said Shabnam Hashmi, one of the organisers of the gathering.