Delhi riots: Estimated death toll is 53, over 200 seriously injured  

A boy weeps near the body of his father who was killed in the Delhi violence.

New Delhi: The estimated death toll in the communal violence in northeast Delhi stood at 53, according to a curated report by “The Polis Project” – a research and journalism organization, which was confirmed by the Delhi Police on Sunday. The violence started on February 23 and ended on February 25.

Out of these 53 deaths, 44 were reported from the Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital, five from the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, three from the Lok Nayak Hospital and one from the Jag Pravesh Chandra Hospital.

Among the dead were a policeman, an employee of the Intelligence Bureau, an 85-year-old woman and two auto drivers. The latest victim was identified as Naresh Saini, 32, who died of gunshot wounds.

Apart from those killed, over 200 received serious injuries and the death toll may further rise. This includes injuries sustained from gunshots, sharp-edged and blunt weapons, stones, fall from buildings, etc.

Earlier on Thursday, the Delhi high court directed the Delhi Police to publish the details of all the unidentified bodies on its official website, including the bodies brought to mortuaries in state-run hospitals during the violence.  

The Delhi Police has filed over 650 cases and arrested nearly 1,700 suspects, including AAP councillor Tahir Hussein, in connection with the violence. The police said it was collecting and scrutinizing hundreds of video footage of the clashes and also gathering mobile call and data records to identify those involved.

Several people from the violence-hit areas, like Babarpur, Bhajanpura, Chand Bagh, Jafrabad, Kardampuri, Maujpur, Shiv Vihar and Yamuna Vihar, have alleged that outsiders were brought in to attack people and destroy property during the riots.

The Delhi Police’s crime branch has formed two special investigation teams (SITs) to probe the violence.

According to the Polis Project, the names of 52 out of the 53 killed are as follows:

1. Aamir, 30, Male
2. Aas Mohammad, 30, Male
3. Aftab, 18, Male
4. Akbari, 85, Female
5. Alok Tiwari, 24, Male
6. Amaan, 17, Male
7. Ankit Sharma, 26, Male
8. Anwar Kassar, 58, Male
9. Aqib, 18, Male
10. Aqil Ahmad, 40, Male
11. Arshad, 22, Male
12. Ashfaq Hussain, 22, Male
13. Ayub Shabbir, 60, Male
14. Babbu Salmani/Babbu Mohammad, 33, Male
15. Bhure 25, Male
16. Bir Bhan/Bir Khan, 50, Male
17. Constable Ratan Lal, 42, Male
18. Deepak Kumar, 34, Male
19. Dilbar/Dilbur Negi, 20, Male
20. Dinesh Kumar, 35, Male
21. Faizaan, 23, Male
22. Hamza, Male
23. Hashim, 17, Male
24. Ishtiyak Khan, 24, Male
25. Jamaluddin, 30, Male
26. Mahroof Ali, 30, Male
27. Mehtab, 22, Male
28. Mohammad Furqan, 30, Male
29. Mohammad Irfan, 32, Male
30. Mohammad Monis, 22, Male
31. Mohammad Shahbaan, 22, Male
32. Mohammad Yusuf, 52, Male
33. Mohsin, 22, Male
34. Mubarak Hussain, 28, Male
35. Muddassir Khan, 35, Male
36. Musharaff, 35, Male
37. Naresh Saini, 32, Male
38. Nazeem Khan, 35, Male
39. Nitin Paswan, 15, Male
40. Parvez Alam, 50, Male
41. Pravesh, 48, Male
42. Prem Singh, 27, Male
43. Rahul Solanki, 29, Male
44. Rahul Thakur, 22, Male
45. Salman, 24, Male
46. Sanjeet Thakur, 32, Male
47. Sayid, 19, Male
48. Shahid Alvi, 23, Male
49. Shan Mohammad, 35, Male
50. Suleiman, 22, Male
51. Vinod Kumar, 50, Male
52. Zakhir, 26, Male

One of the deceased is yet to be identified.

_{[This story was last updated at 9.20pm on March 16, 2020]}

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