Delhi violence: Crime branch to probe 47 murder cases

New Delhi, Mar 02: The Delhi Police crime branch will investigate 47 murder cases which were filed after violence rocked the northeast part of the national capital, sources said on Monday.

The death toll in the communal clashes over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) that erupted a week ago remained at 42 even as four bodies were fished out of drains in northeast Delhi on Sunday.

The sources said some of the cases have already been transferred to the crime branch, while the remaining cases will be shifted either on Tuesday or Wednesday. Meanwhile, the department is facing difficulties in the investigation as tracing eyewitnesses has become a daunting task for the force.

"We met several people in the riots-hit areas and no one has come forward to give us authentic and credible evidences so that we can proceed with our investigation. It is feasible to detain people for rioting after analysing CCTV footage, but not so easy in case of murders," the sources said.

"Till now, we are majorally relying on eyewitnesses as several CCTV cameras were vandalised in the riots," they said.

On February 23, clashes broke out between pro and anti-CAA groups near Jaffrabad in northeast Delhi. The violence in Jaffrabad, Maujpur, Babarpur, Chand Bagh, Shiv Vihar, Bhajan Pura, Yamuna Vihar and Mustafabad areas of northeast Delhi claimed at least 42 lives and left over 200 injured.

A large number of properties have been damaged. Frenzied mobs had torched houses, shops, vehicles, a petrol pump and pelted stones at locals and police personnel. There has been no fresh violence since last five days and heavy deployment of security personnel continues in the riot-hit areas.