Delhi Police Cancels Most Personnel’s Leave Due to ‘Communal Scenario’

Warning personnel of stern action, the order directed officers and staff to join their respective duties.

File Image of Delhi Police.

(Photo: PTI)

Northwest Delhi Deputy Commissioner of Police Usha Rangani, on Tuesday, 14 June, issued an order cancelling leaves of all police personnel, owed to “communal scenarios” and the current law and order situation in Delhi.

According to the order, all types of leaves have been stopped with immediate effect, keeping in mind the communal scenario and prevailing law and order conditions in Delhi. Moreover, the order cancelled leaves which were already granted or sanctioned.

"The officer/staff who are already running on leave shall join their place of duty at once, without fail. No officer shall grant/sanction any kind of leave to their subordinate staff without prior approval of DCP/NWD. All the supervisory officers shall ensure compliance," the order read.

Warning personnel of stern action against non-compliance, the order also directed officers and staff, who have gone on leave, to join their respective duties.

The order comes a few days after clashes broke out between two groups, who allegedly pelted stones at each other, in Northwest Delhi’s Jahangirpuri on 7 June.

The police denied any communal angle to the incident, and said that around three to five vehicles were damaged in the incident, The Indian Express reported.

Clashes also broke out between two communities during a Hanuman Jayanti procession in Jahangirpuri on 16 April, leaving eight police personnel and a local injured.

DCP Rangani said that family members of a suspect in the Hanuman Jayanti violence had thrown stones at the police in the district's C-block area, and that one person has been detained in connection with the incident.

Thirty-six people, including three juveniles, have been caught by the police in connection with the incident till now.

Police have increased vigilance after widespread protests over controversial remarks by former-BJP members Nupur Sharma and Naveen Kumar Jindal against Prophet Muhammad.