Public hearings to allay fear in riot-hit city areas

Following the recent riots in east Delhi, police and other government agencies in this region held a public grievance hearing on Wednesday.

About 200 people from east Delhi attended the hearing and complaints of about 45 persons were noted down.

The Joint CP (Eastern range) Sanjay Beniwal, on Thursday, informed the Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung about this initiative. He said the hearing was required to allay fear from the mind of the public and to keep fringe elements isolated and under control.

“It took us over three hours only to listen to the about 45 complaints. They have all been noted down and action will be taken,” Beniwal told Deccan Herald.

Grievances were related to safety of school-going girls, traffic woes, illegal sale of liquor, and any fears of individuals or communities following the riots. 

Since several complaints were related to traffic woes in the area, he said officers of the traffic department would be invited to attend the next such hearing.

Wednesday’s multi-disciplinary session was held under the jurisdiction of north-east Delhi’s police and saw some other officers apart from the police attend it.

A similar meeting next would be held after three months, said Beniwal. In less than two weeks, this hearing would be conducted in east Delhi, said the officer.

Jung on Thursday had conducted a meeting with Police Commissioner B S Bassi and top police officers of various branches, apart from Delhi’s Principal Secretary.

The LG asked police to improve their intelligence gathering so that communal incidents could be prevented in the future.

He lauded the “efforts made by Delhi Police in containing these (incidents of communal violence)”, a press release from police on Thursday said.

Bassi, meanwhile, informed Jung about the activation of Aman Committees in those areas to prevent the recurrence of such incidents.

These committees have been constituted to bring peace in disturbed areas.