Cops tried to rescue their colleagues as stones rained

NEW DELHI: The toll in the north-east Delhi riots rose to 53 on Thursday as more victims died of their injuries in hospital. According to officials, so far 44 deaths have been reported from GTB Hospital and five from Ram Manohar Lohia . Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital has reported three deaths and Jag Pravesh Chandra Hospital one.“Around 298 patients have been treated so far at GTB and around 100 have gunshot injuries,” said an official.Meanwhile, two new mobile videos have emerged showing the mayhem in the Chand Bagh area during riots on February 24. The videos show a mob of over 2,000 anti-CAA protesters attacking badly outnumbered policemen, throwing stones at them and even firing, as they are huddled over the divider, trying to escape the fury of the mob.This is the incident in which head constable Ratan Lal was shot dead while DCP Amit Sharma was critically injured, along with ACP Anuj Kumar and a dozen other cops . These clips show several women to be part of the mob.These will help cops in identifying the rioters. The cyber cell will use special software to enhance quality of the images and get them verified by a forensic lab.One of the two videos is shot from the terrace of a gym in Yamuna Vihar while the second has been shot from the Chand Bagh side. The police are also trying to reach the people who recorded the video.In the videos, the mob is first seen running away from the police with the women protesters behind the cops. But, suddenly, it turns back and comes charging at them, throwing stones and bricks, even as the women too join in the stone-pelting. The cops try to jump over the divider to cross the road and take refuge in the bushes even as they are being pelted with stones and also physically assaulted.They try to rescue their injured senior colleagues, braving a volley of stones. “Blood was oozing from the mouth of DCP (Shahdara), Amit Sharma, and he was not responding. Police were outnumbered by the mob 1:50 and the divider behind us acted as a wall. With the help of two others, we picked up Sharma and crossed three railings to take him to the hospital,” said a senior cop who was injured in the incident. The cop said that the stone-pelting was so intense and unrelenting that his helmet broke and he suffered an injury on the back of his head.Ratan Lal, who was already injured, was taken to the hospital from the other side of the road which goes towards Yamuna Vihar. He was rushed to the hospital in a private car that was flagged down but he died on the way.A third video has also emerged showing a rioter opening fire. Cops said he has been identified and raids are on to arrest him.Pooja Sharma, wife of DCP (Shahdara) Amit Sharma, told reporters that their family was extremely pained by the visuals. “My husband had gone to have a dialogue with the protesters. It was a group of only women. They took off his helmet and then the mob attacked him,” claimed Sharma. “I appeal to the government to take strict action against the rioters. My husband is still recovering from the attack,” she added.