Disorder, Chaos, and Lawlessness: Police Fails To Address Law And Order Situation In Delhi

Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) have been imposed on the areas in North East Delhi where clashes broke out between two groups of protestors over the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) on Monday, February 25.

The violence that has hit the national capital, considered to be the worst in three decades, started when two groups, one opposing CAA and the other in support of the Act, armed with stones, sticks, petrol bombs clashed in Maujpur, Bhajanpura and Jaffrabad areas in North East Delhi.

At least nine people were killed and over 100 have been reportedly injured in the riots.

With curfew-like situations looming over the violence-prone areas, heavy security has been deployed besides additional forces from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), however, the occurrence of such communal clashes amidst the presence of heavy police personnel has hinted at the lapses in the law enforcement in Delhi.

The death of a police constable, Ratan Lal, with Assistant Commissioner of Police (Gokulpuri), Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shahdara) and two CRPF personnel being injured suggests the fury of the mob on the streets of Delhi.

The protesters had reportedly torched vehicles, petrol pumps, shops and houses during the violence hurling abuses.

The scenario gets murkier when social media is stormed with videos of the police personnel witnessing the stone-pelting as mute spectators and in other, the officers can be seen attacking the crowd on the other side with stones.

Meanwhile, in a now-viral clip, the Delhi Police is seen ganging up on the injured men lying on the street, hitting them with sticks and making them chant the national anthem, with another official recording the incident.

In striking contrast to the videos being recorded from the ground-zero, the Delhi Police in a delayed response to the alarming situation took to Twitter to appeal to the people of Delhi to maintain peace and harmony, saying, that the department is making "every effort to restore normalcy."

Earlier the department's silence when the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kapil Mishra who lead a rally in support of the citizenship law, in the presence of a Delhi Police DCP, issued an ultimatum to police to remove anti-CAA sit-ins in the area also puts them under intense scrutiny.

Also, no statements or a plan of action to monitor the violence from the police authorities since the last 48 hours suggest the inability of the department to maintain the law and order situation in the state.

Also Read: 7 Dead In Delhi Violence After Kapil Mishra's 'Ultimatum', Fresh Stone-Pelting Incidents Reported On Tuesday