Congress delegation visits violence-affected areas in North-East Delhi

A Congress delegation on Saturday visited the violence-affected areas in North-East Delhi to take stock of the situation there and interacted with the victims and their families.

The delegation, deputed by Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi comprises of party general secretary Mukul Wasnik, Delhi in-charge Shaktisinh Gohil, Haryana unit chief Kumari Selja, former MP Tariq Anwar and All India Mahila Congress president Sushmita Dev.

Speaking about the visit, Wasnik said: "Congress president Sonia Gandhi has sent us here as representative. We will work to bring back peace and brotherhood. It was very unfortunate that Delhi witnessed this violence. Now we need to bring back love and peace. We are here to deliver Sonia Gandhi's message. We are with violence-affected people in their pain."

"People said some outsiders came with cloth on their face. So, they could not be identified. In the end, common people suffered losses. Those who have suffered loss should be helped. Everyone believes that peace should be restored. Our leader Sonia Gandhi had said on the first day that now we need to bring peace. So we have come here to talk about peace," Selja told ANI.

Sushmita Dev said that the story of violence is horrible. "We are trying to talk to the people who were affected by the violence. We will submit the report to the Congress party president Sonia Gandhi. It will take a lot of time to repair this damage," he said.

Anwar demanded the Central and state government to compensate for the losses of the people.

"Situation here is very unfortunate. We will try that harmony is restored again. There has been a huge loss of life and property. We demand Central and state governments to compensate for these losses. It is very sad that schools and religious places have been not spared. People have realised now that what has happened is wrong," he said.

The committee is soon expected to submit a detailed report to the Congress chief after completing their visits to affected areas.

At least 42 people have died while around 200 people sustained serious injuries in the violence that rocked North-East Delhi for four days.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the next of kin of people who lost their lives in violence. He said that 5 lakh will be provided in cases of permanent incapacitation, Rs 2 lakh for serious injuries and Rs 20,000 for a minor injury.

The prohibitory orders imposed under Section 144 of the CrPC in the violence-hit north-east Delhi were relaxed for four hours on Saturday in view of the improvement in the situation.