As violence wreaks havoc in Delhi, disturbing reports of the death of an Intelligence Bureau officer have now come to the fore. The violence needs to be contained at the earliest and in a welcome move, IPS officer SN Srivastava has been appointed as the Delhi Police Special Commissioner (Law and Order) with immediate effect.
Srivastava who was called out from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) straight away started working and after attending an emergency meeting with Amit Shah, he wasted no time in issuing a shoot-at-sight order in Yamuna Vihar. Srivastava belongs to the 1985 batch of AGMUT cadre – a common cadre for Goa, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and union territories.
Srivastava has made a name for himself as someone who has zero tolerance for nonsense and in 2015, held the position as Chief of Delhi Police’s elite anti-terror unit. Officials said Srivastava, who has served the Delhi Police in various capacities in the past, has joined the new posting and is already interacting with police officials to control the violence that has engulfed parts of north-east Delhi since the last two days and has claimed 11 lives including of a policeman.
Srivastava’s appointment comes in the backdrop of the heinous murder of Intelligence Bureau officer Ankit Sharma. Sharma was killed when he was returning from work at 4:30 pm on Tuesday and went out to see what was happening in the locality when he was caught by those who were protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act or CAA, according to his brother. Sharma was stabbed and dumped in the drain, said Ankur, adding that the protesters caught his friends too who went to save Ankit. The protesters kept firing relentlessly and did not let anyone come near Ankit, said his brother. Ankit Sharma’s body was found littered with stones and glass shards, giving an indication of the heavy stone pelting in the area.
His father, Devendra Sharma who works as an Assistant Sub-Inspector with Delhi Police identified Ankit’s body in the morning next day. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal condoled Sharma’s death on Twitter. “Such a tragic loss of life. The culprits must not be spared. 20 people have already lost their lives. So painful to watch people of Delhi suffering. Praying that we recover from this tragedy soon n work together to undo damage done to people n communities,” read Kejriwal’s tweet.
The violence in Delhi has killed more than 20 people and injured over 250. The city administration and Centre immediately sprung into action and ordered a series of steps to control the mayhem. The Delhi government activated the peace committees and asked them to speak to the locals to shun violence. The Centre, which controls law and order in Delhi, deployed more policemen and clamped prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC.
The Prime Minister has also taken to social media to appeal for calm and better sense to prevail. Security personnel, including paramilitary forces, conducted flag marches in the riot-hit areas.