Delhi Violence: Toll rises to 24

The Hindu Newsletter - Delhi Violence: Toll rises to 24 Wednesday 26, February 2020 [alt_text]( The Evening Wrap Welcome to The Evening Wrap, your guide to the day’s major news developments with concise analysis from The Hindu. It’s been a harrowing day with one troubling news report after another about the violence in Delhi. We have major updates on that story as well as others. Delhi Violence: Toll rises to 24 The death toll in northeast Delhi rose to 24 at the time of writing as clashes between those supporting and opposing the Citizenship (Amendment) Act continued for the fourth straight day. The scenes from the capital continue to be extremely disturbing, with shops and vehicles being torched, and members of the minority community attacked in their homes and in the streets with very little police intervention. A school and a mosque were also burned down in the Chand Bagh area. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said the situation was alarming and that the army should be called in. But National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, who has been put in charge of returning normalcy to the area, has claimed that the situation is totally under control and that people should “trust the capabilities of the Delhi police”. HC pulls up Delhi Police In urgent hearings today, the Delhi High Court brought up the spectre of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, saying it could not allow a repeat of a similar situation. The court ordered security for citizens, 24-hour help lines, and adequate provisions for ambulances and shelters. It also slammed the Delhi Police for not filing FIRs against BJP leaders whose incendiary speeches preceded the violence. Notably, Justice Muralidhar castigated a Delhi police officer when he said that he had not seen the video clip in which BJP leader Kapil Mishra is seen issuing a threat against anti-CAA protesters. He ordered the video to be played during the hearings today. The court then advised the police commissioner of Delhi “to take a conscious decision” by tomorrow on whether or not to file FIRs against Mishra, and two other BJP leaders, Parvesh Verma and Anuragh Thakur. You might remember that Thakur, the Centre’s Minister of State for Finance, no less, had recently raised the ‘goli maaro’ slogan during a Delhi election rally, calling for “traitors” to be shot. He had been let off with a slap on the wrist by the EC. Congress wants HM to resign Political reactions came streaming in through the day. Addressing a rare press conference from the party headquarters in Delhi, Congress president Sonia Gandhi called for the resignation of Home Minister Amit Shah for his failure to control the situation. The Congress later took out a march for peace, while Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal took aim at the BJP government, pointing out that in Delhi, law and order comes under the purview of the Central government. Follow all the latest developments in Delhi with our [live page](. And read here for an analysis on how the Centre and the Delhi government are both responsible for the [inadequate response]( to the riots. In Brief: The Supreme Court on Wednesday deferred the hearing on petitions to remove Shaheen Bagh protestors to shift their agitation against the Citizenship Amendment Act to an alternative site, saying the environment was not conducive to conduct the hearing. The matter is now fixed for hearing on March 23. Disney-owned streaming service Hotstar India has taken down the latest episode of John Oliver's show, Last Week Tonight, which criticises Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP and RSS. After blocking the episode, Hotstar has been unavailable for comment. The episode, however, is [streaming on YouTube](. The Supreme Court sought response from the Jammu and Kashmir administration on a plea challenging former J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti's detention under the Public Safety Act. The Union Cabinet approved the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2020, allowing a “willing” woman [to be a surrogate mother]( and proposing that the Bill would benefit widows and divorced women besides infertile Indian couples. The World Health Organisation said on Wednesday there were now more new daily cases of the COVID-19 virus outside China than inside the hard-hit country, marking a shift in the outbreak. Five-time Grand Slam winner Maria Sharapova, one of the world's most recognisable sports women, announced her retirement at the age of 32. “Tennis - I'm saying goodbye,” Sharapova said in an article for Vogue and Vanity Fair magazines. One international story that we missed in the last couple of days was the resignation of Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. The Hindu has an edit piece on how that move was thrown Malaysia into crisis which you can read [here](. You are receiving this email because you are a user of [thehindu.com]( If you do not wish to receive any such emails, [unsubscribe here.](mailto:rm-0b4aphsrbf2f90kauhqqkhbysa8hk3f@newsalert.thehindu.com?subject=Unsubscribe&body=You will be unsubscribed from our mailing list.) To ensure you continue to receive emails from The Hindu in your inbox, please add newsletters.th@newsalert.thehindu.com to your contact. 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