According to the latest reports, the Special Investigation Teams (SIT) has arrested seven people in connection with the murder of Delhi Police Head Constable Ratan Lal during the recent Delhi anti-Hindu Riots. As per a report by India TV, the names of the suspects are Salim Malik, Mohammad Jalauddin, Mohammad Yunus, Mohammad Ayub, Arif, Danish and Mohammad Salim Khan.
As per the report, of the seven, six are residents of Chand Bagh area which is right across Yamuna Vihar where HC Ratan Lal was murdered. This punches hole in the theory that the rioting mob had come from outside of Delhi. Earlier in the day, the Delhi Police in a press briefing informed that till now 712 FIRs have been registered and over 200 accused have been arrested. The police further informed that technology such as face recognition software is being used to identify people.
Delhi police have been in a relentless pursuit to arrest the violent rioters who ran amok, engaging in arson, stone-pelting and vandalism, injuring innumerable civilians and police personnel in the ensuing mayhem.
On 6th March, it was reported that the Delhi police had identified Head constable Ratan Lal’s assassin and the rioters who attacked and injured DCP Shahdara IPS Amit Sharma and Delhi police officer ACP Anuj Sharma. More than half a dozen rioters have been identified and Delhi police are now conducting raids at various places in Delhi to nab the perpetrators.
According to a report by News 18 India, the crime branch has claimed that the killer and attackers have been identified and efforts are being made to arrest them as soon as possible. As per reports, the SIT crime branch used its local surveillance, CCTV footages and information from eyewitnesses to identify these rioters.
Head constable Ratan Lal lost his life on February 24 in the riots that have ensued in Delhi timed with US President Donald Trump’s India visit. According to the autopsy report, Ratan Lal had died of a bullet injury. Earlier, it was believed that a stone took his life.
Lal belonged to Fathepur Tihwali village in Rajasthan’s Sikar district. Lal is survived by his wife and three children. The Sikar resident had joined the Delhi Police as a constable in 1998. He married a Jaipur resident in 2004.
DCP Amit Sharma was grievously injured by the Muslim mob along with another Delhi police officer ACP Anuj Sharma on February 24. Anuj Sharma was attacked and injured as he had tried to rescue DCP Amit Sharma who was brutally thrashed by Muslim mobs, led by women during the riots in the national capital. During the same incident, constable Ratan Lal was killed by the rioters as he tried to save IPS Sharma.
On February 4, videos had surfaced where a violent mob of rioters, mostly Islamists, including Burka-clad women, were seen attacking the Delhi Police officers with stones and sticks. It is believed this is the attack which injured DCP Shahdara IPS Amit Sharma and claimed the life of constable Ratan Lal.
On the day of US President Donald Trump’s visit to India, the national capital had witnessed horrific violence. The anti-CAA riots turned communal in Delhi resulting in severe violence on the streets. The anti-Hindu riots that engulfed the streets of Delhi have resulted in deaths of around 47 persons and more than 220 people sustained injuries in the violence that started on Sunday.
