NO INTEL ON BUILD-UP, L-G BAIJAL PULLS UP POLICE

NEW DELHI: Delhi’s lieutenant-governor Anil Baijal has rebuked the city police for an intelligence failure in its inability to detect the vast quantity of firearms, petrol bombs, stones and acid that had been stored by rioters for use in the February 23-25 communal violence that ravaged the capital

Baijal, who represents the central government, spoke his mind during a visit to the north-east district, the epicentre of the violence, on Friday, officials familiar with the development said on condition of anonymity. The police department also received an earful from National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, who visited the area on Tuesday night and Wednesday and tried to assuage the concerns of local residents while the directing police top brass to stanch the violence.

Delhi cops have blamed the “failure” of beat policing and the special branch’s disinterest in active gathering of intelligence from potential trouble spots.

bottles being stockpiled on terraces of houses in riot-hit areas, made the city police suspect the clashes were not spontaneous.

Officials associated with the SITS said they were probing the role of “outsiders” and some “local gangs”, who could have orchestrated the violence.

Joint commissioner of police (eastern range) Alok Kumar said the investigators were collecting details of cases against the arrested criminals. “We are interrogating the suspects to identify other people who were with them during the violence. More first information reports (FIRS) will be filed and more arrests will be made,” Kumar said.

SN Shrivastava, who on Saturday took charge as acting chief of Delhi Police replacing Amulya Patnaik, said cases of riots and murder were being registered and the strictest possible action would be taken against the culprits so that such incidents do not recur.

“My first priority is to restore peace and bring back the communal harmony in the city. All those involved in the riots will be punished,” said Shrivastava.