NEW DELHI: Home minister Amit Shah on Wednesday vowed to ensure punishment for those responsible for the Delhi riots irrespective of their religion, caste and political affiliation, asserting that action against the culprits would go down as an example for future rioters across the country.“I convey my condolences to all those who have lost their family members. I promise that none of the guilty will be spared no matter which religion, caste or political party they belong to. Delhi Police will act with such firmness that these riots will become a case study of the consequences that should visit those engage in riots,” Shah told Lok Sabha after an over five-hour debate on communal violence in the Capital.Home minister Amit Shah said the government wants to set up a claims commission to recover damages from rioters, and the Delhi high court has already been approached for the purpose.“About 700 FIRs have been filed, 152 weapons used in violence seized and 49 cases lodged under the Arms Act. Also, 2,647 people have been detained or arrested so far,” Shah said.Congress walked out of the House during the reply, provoking a sharp response from the usually quiet highways minister Nitin Gadkari.Responding to attacks from Congress which demanded his resignation and others in the opposition, Shah strongly rebutted the charges of failure and police inaction, saying the communal violence that claimed 53 lives was a pre-planned, well-organised conspiracy executed with hawala funds. “The spread of riots on such a big scale in such a short time is not possible without a conspiracy. We have registered a case of conspiracy to probe this angle. Three people have been arrested for financing the violence in northeast Delhi,” he said.A combative Shah marshalled details to refute that Delhi police, which works under the home ministry, had failed, saying that riots had been controlled within 36 hours and were not allowed to spread beyond 12 police stations. “The first complaint of riot was reported at 2 pm on February 24. It goes to the credit of the force that not a single incident of rioting took place after 11 pm on February 25,” he said.Shah said it was an achievement considering that northeast district had the highest population density in the country, was marked by a maze of narrow lanes and had a historically high crime rate. “It borders UP from where 300 criminals were brought in as part of a sinister conspiracy to organise violence during the visit of US President Donald Trump,” he added.The minister focused on the role of social media in what has been dubbed the first “digitised riots”. “More than 60 social media accounts were created specifically to incite communal violence between February 22 and 26,” he added.Shah said many of the social media accounts were since shut but police were looking for those responsible. “If they feel that they will get away, they are mistaken, law will take its course,” he said, adding that 25 cases under the IT Act had been registered.He responded to the charge that the Union government failure to take action against BJP members who made “provocative speeches” by referring to speeches of AIMIM’s Waris Pathan and others to say that inflammatory comments defined anti-CAA protests. He also mentioned the “aar-paar ki ladai” comment Sonia Gandhi had made at Ramlila Maidan, although he did not name the Congress chief. The minister stressed that riots were not a spontaneous outbreak.Responding to the allegation that the Centre delayed debate in Parliament, he said the government wanted the riots to be discussed after Holi to avoid communal flare-up during festival time. “There has been a history of communal clashes during Holi. It seems others had other priorities,” he said.He refused the demand for a community-wise break-up of fatalities and said, “I won’t give figures in ‘Hindu-Muslim’ as has been demanded by some members. 53 Indians have died, 526 Indians have been injured. Shops of 371 Indians were set ablaze and houses of 142 Indians were burned.”Shah also denied that he was missing in action. “I was in Ahmedabad on February 24 because the public reception for the visiting US President had been organised in my constituency. I came back the same evening and stayed away from Trump’s reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan, and the banquet organised for him to concentrate on the deployment of security forces,” he said. Watch Total of 2,647 people have been detained or arrested for violence in Delhi, says Amit Shah