10 held for burning buses, restrictions in force till Monday
Suspects held with the help of CCTV footage
NEWDELHI: A day after miscreants damaged two buses in northeast Delhi’s Jyoti Nagar following the Ram Rahim verdict, Delhi Police arrested 10 suspects identified with the help of CCTV footage.
They have been booked under stringent sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) before being sent to jail. “We have booked the suspects for attempt to murder, rioting and damaging public property. Petrol bottles and motorcycles used in the crime have been recovered from them,” said Ravindra Yadav, joint CP (eastern range).
Police said attempt to murder charges were pressed against them as they threw bottles filled with petrol on two running DTC buses, thus threatening the lives of all the passengers. Fortunately, the bus drivers managed to stop the bus in time and let the passengers out safely.
The suspects, who are followers of Gurmeet Ram Rahim’s Dera Sacha Sauda and live in northeast Delhi, were captured by a CCTV camera when they were fleeing after torching a bus and damaging two others. The police’s decision to circulate the footage through social media and mainstream media helped identify and arrest them.
The city, meanwhile, remained calm through Saturday. Madhur Verma, Delhi Police spokesperson said “not even one” PCR call in connection with the Ram Rahim verdict was received after 9 pm on Friday.
He said prohibitory orders will continue to remain in force in 11 districts of the city where CrPC section 144 was imposed on Friday. The prohibition is likely to be in place at least till Monday when the sentence against the self-proclaimed godman will be announced in the rape case.
Sources said police have received inputs that some followers of Ram Rahim may try to enter the city in Haryana Roadways buses and the police on the borders are keeping a watch out for them.
“All bus services to NCR cities like Gurgaon, Bahadurgarh, Faridabad, Noida and Ghaziabad have been stalled till Monday for security reasons following the conviction of Gurmeet Ram Rahim,” DTC spokesperson Sanjay Saxena said.
After Rahim’s conviction on Friday, his supporters torched at least two DTC buses at Loni crossing after which, the corporation suspended all bus service to NCR cities, a directive which is set to continue for two days.
“However, the night bus service within the city was resumed from Saturday,” Saxena said.
Operations of the Delhi Metro were normal on Saturday and it is going to remain so on Sunday as well, Metro officials said.