903 in custody over Delhi communal riots; heavy police deployment in Shaheen Bagh

New Delhi: The Delhi police on Sunday registered 254 FIRs and arrested or detained 903 persons in connection with the northeast Delhi communal violence which claimed over 40 lives and left 200 injured.

The communal violence in Jaffrabad, Maujpur, Babarpur, Chand Bagh, Shiv Vihar, Bhajan Pura, Yamuna Vihar and Mustafabad areas of northeast Delhi broke out last Monday after clashes between citizenship law supporters and protesters spiralled out of control.

However, NDTV reported that three more bodies were recovered on Sunday, taking the death toll to 46.

NDTV, quoting the Delhi police, said that one body was found in a canal in Gokalpuri and two others were recovered from the Bhagirathi Vihar canal in New Delhi.

Meanwhile, a senior police official told PTI that the situation in the riot-affected areas was under control.

According to police, they did not receive any PCR calls of rioting in the last four days.

The Delhi police on Sunday made a heavy deployment of security personnel in southeast Delhi's Shaheen Bagh area, where several women have been leading a protest on the road against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) for more than two months, as a precautionary measure, officials said.

Section 144 too was imposed in the area, they said.

The police deployment has come after a fringe right-wing group, Hindu Sena, gave a call to clear the Shaheen Bagh road on March 1.

However on Saturday, following police intervention, the group called off their proposed protest against the anti-CAA agitation in Shaheen Bagh.

"The proposed protest call was cancelled with timely intervention. But as a precautionary measure, we have made heavy police deployment here," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) R P Meena said.

Twelve companies, including two of female forces, have been deployed in Shaheen Bagh, 100 men each from four police districts have also been deployed along with the local police, the official said.

The Hindu Sena said in a statement that police pressured them to call off their protest on Sunday against the Shaheen Bagh agitation.

The official twitter handle of Shaheen Bagh stated: "Today's Peace March has been postponed in view of section 144 applied at Shaheen Bagh Jasola Vihar. Our peaceful protest continues. come join us!"

Shaheen Bagh, near Jamia Millia Islamia, has been a protest venue for a section of people opposed to the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens since December 15 last year.