Rioters Came From Places Near Meerut, Ghaziabad, Says Delhi Police; Death Toll Rises To 53

The Delhi Police on Friday said that those involved in the Northeast Delhi riots came from nearby areas of Meerut and Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh. The information was revealed after a coordination meeting held at the DCP office in North-East district between the Delhi Police and Uttar Pradesh Police officials.

"Certain points regarding the Delhi violence was taken up during the meeting. The meeting was called to discuss the various aspects of the incident by police officials of the Eastern Range," Alok Kumar, Joint Commissioner of Delhi Police, told ANI.

The death toll in Northeast Delhi riots reached 53 on Thursday, March 5. Of these, 44 deaths were reported from the Guru Tegh Bahadur (GTB) hospital, five from the Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) hospital, three at the Lok Nayak (LNJP) hospital and one at the Jag Pravesh Chandra Hospital.

However, according to officials, it is yet to be confirmed whether the three bodies found at LNJP Hospital and the five at RML hospital were related to the Delhi violence or not.

So far, the Delhi police have registered 654 cases, detained/arrested 1,820 people, and registered 47 cases of Arms Act.

Meanwhile, the Delhi high court on Thursday directed the police to publish details of all unidentified bodies brought to government hospital mortuaries, on its official website. The bench comprising of Justice Siddharth Mridul and Justice I S Mehta was hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by a man seeking the whereabouts of his brother-in-law, Hamza, who has been missing since February 26.

The Delhi government has also decided to raise compensation for damaged residential units in the affected areas. The government will start distributing ₹25,000 to those whose houses have been burnt down in the riots. It has also set up nine shelters for the victims.

Earlier, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had ₹10 lakh compensation for families of those who had died in the violence.