There was a sense of palpable unease in the national Capital on Sunday evening with rumours doing the rounds in certain localities of fresh clashes over the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act, which have left 46 persons dead and hundreds injured.
The Delhi Police, however, claimed the reports were unsubstantiated and circulated on social media by hate-mongers. It claimed it was closely monitoring the accounts and checking out the rumours.
As these ‘reports’ of clashes did the rounds, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, in a knee-jerk response, shut the entry and exit gates of Tilak Nagar, Nangloi, Surajmal Stadium, Badarpur, Tughlakabad, Uttam Nagar West and Nawada stations. The stations were later opened.
‘‘The situation on the ground is normal and under control. We received many calls but they were found to be fake,’’ Deputy Commissioner of Police, Southeast Delhi, RP Meena, told NDTV.
AAP leader Atishi said she had received WhatsApp messages about mobs in Govindpuri and Kalkaji. "These rumours are all false. The situation is peaceful. The police is patrolling the area," she said in a tweet. Tilak Nagar MLA Jarnail Singh also urged people to remain calm.
"I reached at the site as soon as I heard rumour of riots; shops were shut and people were in a state of panic but no one saw any riots. It was a conspiracy to spread rumours and vitiate the atmosphere,’’ he said.
