New Delhi, March 1: Panic gripped the residents of several parts of west Delhi on Sunday evening following false rumours of violence but the Delhi Police denied any incident and appealed people to remain calm.
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said it had shut down the entry and exit gates of seven metro stations but did not give any reason. The stations were later reopened.
“A rumour has been noticed that there is some tension in Khyala-Raghubir Nagar area of West District. There is no truth behind it. All are requested to keep calm as the situation is absolutely normal & peaceful,” DCP West Deepak Purohit said.
“There are some rumours regarding some communal tension in Tilak Nagar and Khyala area. It is intimated that there is no tension in Tilak Nagar and Khyala and whole west district area. Nothing to worry about,” he added.
Police said some “unsubstantiated reports” of tension in southeast and west districts were circulated on the social media.
Shopkeepers downed shutters and people rushed to reach home early in several areas, including Subhash Nagar, Tilak Nagar, Janakpuri and Khyala in west Delhi.
Tilak Nagar MLA Jarnail Singh too urged people to remain calm.
“I reached at the site as soon as I heard of the rumour of riots, shops were shut people were in a state of panic but no one saw any riots happening. It was a conspiracy to spread rumours and spoil the atmosphere. I appeal to people to maintain peace and brotherhood and do not believe the rumours,” he said.
Rajesh Sharma, a resident of Subhash Nagar, said he had gone to a mall in west Delhi when at around 7:45 pm, he witnessed sudden commotion.
Meanwhile, the metro stations which were briefly shut down included Tilak Nagar, Nangloi, Surajmal Stadium, Badarpur, Tughlakabad, Uttam Nagar west and Nawada metro stations.
In northeast Delhi, the situation in affected areas was peaceful but tense as four more bodies were fished out from drains in Gokalpuri and Shiv Vihar and heavy police deployment continued.
In parts of northeast Delhi, people complained of cash crunch as several bank branches and ATMs have remained closed in the aftermath of the riots.
No untoward incident has been reported from the northeast district over the past three days, an official said, adding police are urging residents to not pay attention to rumours and report them to authorities.
Three bodies were fished out from two drains in Gokalpuri on Sunday while one body was pulled out from a drain in Shiv Vihar, police said.
However, it is yet to be ascertained if they are linked to the riots and authorities have not updated the death toll figure.
Several bodies of riot victims have been found in drains since Wednesday, including of IB staffer Ankit Sharma after violence ebbed.
