‘Inshallah, There Will be Complete Peace Here’: NSA Ajit Doval as He Meets Locals in Riot-Hit Northeast Delhi
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, who has been put in charge of restoring normalcy in the violence-hit parts of Delhi, again visited the area this evening to review security and interacted with locals there. “Inshallah, there will be peace here,” he told reporters.
“Situation is totally under control. People are satisfied. I have confidence in law enforcement agencies. Police are doing its work,” the NSA said.
Mr. Doval walked along with a convoy of police officials in Jafrabad, one of the worst-hit areas since Sunday. 23 people have died and over 200 injured in the clashes over the contentious citizenship law in the last four days.
Mr. Doval, in Jafrabad, was confronted by a girl, who told him, “I am a student, we can’t sleep at night, we are not fighting, I can’t go to study.” To which, Mr. Doval responded, “You don’t have to worry. This is the responsibility of the government and the police.” When the student asked Mr. Doval to take a strong step as the “police are not doing their job”, Mr. Doval assured her, “I give you my word”.
The National Security Advisor said he had been instructed by Home Minister Amit Shah to visit northeast Delhi. The move to put Mr. Doval in charge of restoring peace in northeast Delhi has raised eyebrows since the Delhi Police reports directly to the Home Minister.
Before he took stock of the situation on the ground this evening, Mr. Doval held a meeting with Delhi Police Special Commissioner (Law and Order) SN Srivastava, who was appointed to the post last evening, Special Commissioner of Police (Crime) Satish Golcha and Deputy Commissioner of Police Northeast Ved Prakash Surya.
Sources say Mr. Doval reviewed the security arrangements and enquired whether there had been any new incidents of violence since morning.
There was fresh violence this morning with reports of arson and stone-throwing. A battery shop was set on fire in the Bhajanpura area. The shop was vandalized and burnt batteries were strewn on the road, according to news agency PTI.
Late last night, Mr. Doval had visited Seelampur, Jaffrabad, Maujpur and Gokulpuri Chowk, which saw violence. “People were doubting the capabilities and intentions of the Delhi Police. This needs to be addressed. People need to trust the man in uniform,” he had