‘Goli maaro...’ slogans at march attended by Mishra
NEWDELHI: Inflammatory slogans such as “shoot the traitors” were chanted during a peace march organised on Saturday in the heart of New Delhi in the aftermath of the communal rioting that left at least 42 people dead and more than 450 injured in the national capital, even as SN Shrivastava took charge as the police commissioner with a vow to restore peace .
On a relatively peaceful Saturday, meanwhile, it emerged, that at least 87 people suffered gunshot wounds in the rioting, of whom at least 20 — including one policeman — succumbed to bullet injuries, investigators said. The police said no deaths had been reported on Saturday from riothit areas, but a shop was set on fire in the Welcome neighbourhood of north-east Delhi.
BJP leader Kapil Mishra, who has faced flak for allegedly making provocative statements in the lead-up to the rioting in northeast Delhi, was present in Jantar Mantar, from where the peace marchers set off for Parliament Street.
Families of some of the victims of the communal violence also participated in the march, held in the presence of around 100 police personnel, although it had not received formal permission from the city police. The police took no action against either the sloganeers or the organisers of the march. Similar slogans were chanted at the Rajiv Chowk Metro station by a group of six students, who were immediately removed by CISF and handed over to the Delhi Metro Police.
Two video clips of the two incidents of the slogan chanting surfaced on social media, triggering criticism of the Delhi Police, already under fire for failing to act promptly to stanch the rioting. Deputy commissioner of police (Metro) Vikram Porwal said the six students were found shouting “desh ke gaddaron ko, goli maro saalon ko (shoot the traitors)” at the Metro station.