Delhi violence: Man who pointed gun at unarmed policeman arrested from UP; many yet to return to their homes

Shahrukh Pathan, whose picture of pointing a gun at a policeman during the communal riots in Northeast Delhi went viral, was on Tuesday arrested by Delhi Police from Uttar Pradesh's Shamli district, even as many people who fled the violence were yet to return to their homes in the affected areas.

Authorities said the situation has been peaceful for the last six days.

According to Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, 79 houses and 327 shops were completely gutted in arson during the violence last week.

Besides this, 168 houses suffered substantial and 40 minor damage due to arson, Sisodia said, citing figures available till Monday evening following a survey by officials.

On Tuesday, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) said that over 98 per cent attendance was recorded in the class 12 board exam held in violence-affected northeast Delhi.

Although the official death toll still stands at 42, five bodies, suspected to be riot causalities and recovered from drains in Shiv Vihar and other violence-hit areas, have been kept at RML Hospital. One of the five has been identified as Ali Aftab (21), a native of Bijnore in Uttar Pradesh.

18-year-old Aqib, who had suffered a serious head injury in the violence in Bhajanpura when he went out to purchase clothes for his sister's wedding, died during treatment at the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, his family claimed on Tuesday.

"He was operated upon by the doctors at the GTB hospital but could not be saved. He died around 7 pm on Monday," said the distraught father who was standing outside the mortuary waiting for Aqib's body.

Briefing reporters on the arrest of Shahrukh Pathan, Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) AK Singhla said, "He (Shahrukh) was planning to flee from Shamli but was nabbed and later brought to Delhi."
"A few others in our lane did the same thing," Rajora said. "Houses in one corner of our lane have been completely gutted by the fire."