Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said that those responsible for the recent spate of violence in Delhi would not be spared, irrespective of their political affiliations or their religion and caste.
"They will be brought to book," said Shah while replying to the debate on menacing Delhi violence in the Rajya Sabha.
"All culprits behind the killings of Head Constable Ratan Lal and IB Officer Ankit Sharma have been arrested while the investigations into the wider conspiracy is ongoing," the Home Minister said, adding that over 1,900 people who were "spreading arson and breaking infrastructure" have now been identified using facial recognition software.
He was however quick to add that this identification process did not make use of Aadhaar data. "Only driving license and voter ID database have been used," he told the Lok Sabha.
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"However, police must empowered to use scientific methods to bring the culprits to book and should not be stopped in the name of privacy breach," Shah added.
He said that over 40 special teams have been formed to apprehend those who took part in the violence. These teams, he said were working day and night.
The Home Minister alleged that money for the riots had come from abroad and from other parts of the country. Stating that there was a "conspiracy" behind these riots, Shah said that the government had received information from several agencies stating the same.
"We started our preliminary investigation right away, but the riots happened. Five people have been arrested so far in this regard," he said.
The use of personal weapons during the Delhi violence has also come to light, Shah said. Nearly a 100 weapons that had been used in the riots had so far been confiscated.
"49 such cases have been registered and 52 people have been arrested," he added.
At least 53 people were killed in the violence at the national capital, including IB officer Ankit Sharma and Constable Rattan Lal. Over 200 others had been injured.
(With inputs from agencies)
