NEW DELHI:Â Tilak Vihar, which witnessed a flare-up between two communities on Independence Day, slowly returned to normalcy on Friday. As a temporary measure, police have set up additional pickets and blocked roads to ensure that both communities have separate entries and exits to the west Delhi area.
Doctors at Deen Dayal Upadhay Hospital where 31 people, including five police personnel,underwent treatment on Thursday said only one person was still at the hospital. “We have operated upon one of the victims with bullet wounds. He continues to be serious but stable. Another person has left without informing us. Hence, we will treat him as absconding,” said a senior doctor. The clash broke out on Thursday between two groups over three men performingmotorcycle stunts in Tilak Vihar.
Police said the doctors’ report shows that maximum injuries were those of pellets and bullets used in locally-made weapons. “We have conclusively proved that we have not shot at the protesters,” said a top officer at the police headquarters. Besides joint commissioner Vivek Gogia, several political leaders have also appealed to both communities to maintain peace, said a senior officer. Nobody has been arrested yet. Police hope to identify some miscreants in a few days through the video analysis of CCTV footage collected from the spot.
Residents of Subhas Nagar and Tilak Nagar complained that a few gates to Metro stations in the locality were shut on Friday. What added to their confusion was an early Friday morning statement by a Metro spokesperson. “Due to imposition of Section 144 in Tilak Nagar by Delhi Police, two entry gates each at Subhash Nagar, Tagore Garden and Tilak Nagar and one entry gate at Janakpuri East station have been closed at 8.23am. Other gates of these stations are open and stations are working normally,” the spokesperson said.
However, V Renganathan, additional CP (west), who heads the district police, and additional DCP (railways) Sanjay Bhatia denied any curfew being imposed in the area. Police have also not asked for any restricted entry to any Metro station, they said.
Source: TOI