New Delhi: A week after communal clashes broke out in Jahangirpuri during a Hanuman Jayanti Procession, a Tiranga yatra was taken out in the area on Sunday as a mark of solidarity and brotherhood. The area is still under security cover as officials do not want to take any chances on maintaining law and order.
Speaking over the Jahangirpuri violence and its fallout, National Commission for Minorities (NCM) Chairman Iqbal Singh Lalpura, in an exclusive interview with ETV Bharat, said it was his duty to see that the minority community are safe and protected. "I ensure that there is no discrimination against them. We look into all cases wherever there are such reports of discrimination or in some cases of violence," he said.
Asked whether the Commission has submitted any report to the Centre on the Jahangirpuri violence, Lalpura said: "I along with two members of the NCM visited Jahangirpuri. We met all the concerned people there. I've even sent a recommendation to the Government and more on this can be discussed only after the state government releases its report."
Lalpura said that the police had done a "splendid" job in controlling the violence in which several cops were injured as well. "The Policemen there suffered bullet injuries and many suffered grievous injuries. The police have done a splendid job there and have arrested several people from both the communities who violated the laws," he said.
The NCM chairman said action has been taken against those who did not have permission from the authorities for carrying out the procession. "I am in regular touch with the DCP and they are investigating the case," he said, adding that miscreants from both sides were responsible for the melee and the eventual violence. "People in that area have a peace committee. They jointly celebrate their functions and they're happily living together," he said.
On the purported social media calls of "genocide" against a particular community, he said: "I don't have a complaint on this from anybody against any person. But people generally tend to destabilize the peace and harmony of the state with ulterior motives. We always take action wherever there is a report of discrimination."
About western countries criticising India on human rights, Lalpura said that while he was not the right person to answer that question, he, as a Sikh and Minority Commission chairperson, is concerned about the treatment of Sikhs in the United States. "Recently, three Sikhs were brutally attacked there and there were incidents of attacks on Gurudwaras. Similarly, there are similar incidences in Afghanistan and Pakistan. We take them very seriously," he said.
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