25 February 2020 22:30 IST

Over 50 persons taken to hospital with injuries on Tuesday

Clashes triggered on Sunday by pro- and anti-CAA protesters continued for the third day on Tuesday in northeast Delhi as the death toll mounted to 13. Most of the deaths were due to gunshot wounds, their families have told The Hindu.

Four more dead bodies were brought to Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) hospital confirmed hospital sources on Wednesday morning taking the total death toll to 17.

Mobs carrying lathis roamed the streets of northeast Delhi, attacking shops and burning vehicles even as Delhi police PRO M.S. Randhawa claimed that the “situation was under control”. Rioters also opened fire and threw stones at each other.

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Late in the evening, curfew was imposed at Maujpur, Jaffarabad, Chandbagh and Karawal Nagar. Shoot at sight orders in parts of northeast Delhi were also issued. Also, police sources said the anti-CAA protest site in the troubled area had been “cleared”.

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Dr. Sunil Kumar, medical director of Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital, said 57 persons had been admitted on Tuesday, taking the total brought there to 150. “About 20 of the injured are in a serious condition. Many have sustained firearm injuries.”

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal met the victims at GTB Hospital and MAX Hospital and said the “madness must end immediately”.

Earlier, Mr. Kejriwal met with Home Minister Amit Shah to discuss restoration of peace in the capital. “The meeting with HM Amit Shah was positive and it was decided that all parties will rise above party politics and take steps to restore peace,” he told reporters after the meeting. “The police are doing their bit and the HM has assured that whatever force is needed will be provided when we told him about some MLAs saying the police deployment was less than adequate.”

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Policeman died of bullet wound: family

Head constable Rattan Lal, who died in the violence in Delhi on Monday, was laid to rest on Tuesday in the presence of senior officers, including Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik. Lal’s family, which received the body at the mortuary late in the afternoon, said he died of a gunshot injury.

The body was taken to Kingsway Camp, where the last rites were performed.

“He was ill on Monday. He had high fever. His wife asked him to take leave but he still went. What could he do also especially in this situation and when there are fewer officers,” Lal’s brother-in-law Deepak Bari said.

Mr. Bari said Lal’s wife received a call around 4 p.m. that he had been injured and was in a serious condition. “She then called us in Jaipur where we reside. We switched on the TV and news reports said he had died. We immediately left for Delhi,” he said.

Five of the other dead have been identified as Mohammed Furkan, Shahid Khan, Nazim, Vinod and Rahul Solanki. Outside the mortuary of Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, on Tuesday, families of deceased gathered to receive the bodies of their loved ones.

Hari Singh Solanki, Rahul’s father, a resident of Dayalpur, said he called the police control room around 3 p.m. after he sensed tensions escalating in the area, but no one turned up. “I called all the police officers whose numbers I had but no one turned up. My son died when he had gone to buy milk just around the corner. He was shot,” he said.

“We took him to a nursing home nearby; they refused to treat him. We wanted to take him to GTB Hospital straight but the road was blocked due to clashes. We then took him to a government hospital but he was dead by then,” the father said.

Mr. Rahul’s sister is due to get married on April 27.

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Shahid’s brother Imran said he got married four months ago and his wife was pregnant. “He is an autorickshaw driver and had gone to work in the morning. Around 4 p.m., we were informed that he had been shot. We found his body two hours later,” he said.

He was a resident of New Mustafabad and native of Bulandshahr. Imran said their brother had got a WhatsApp message of the death in their village. “He received his photos on WhatsApp and called me. We went looking for him but couldn’t find him for two hours. We were informed that he was shot in Bhajanpura,” he said.

Subsequently, the family was informed that he has been brought to a nursing home close to their residence. They then went there and brought the body. “We kept his body in the street for an hour not knowing what to do. Elders in the area then suggested to take him to hospital for post mortem. He was shot in the chest,” Mr. Imran said.

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Stoned to death

Vinod Kumar, resident of Brahmpuri, was stoned to death on Monday night, his family said. His son Monu said that the two had gone out to the street when stones were thrown at them. “Nobody came to help us,” said the son who also sustained injuries.

Mohammed Furkan’s brother Mohammed Imran said that he looked for his brother in GTB Hospital’s emergency ward for a while before he could finally find his body.