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No sealing drive in Delhi Thursday, 32 arrested
New Delhi, Sep 21 (IANS) Delhi's civic authorities said they would not carry out sealing of illegal commercial units in residential areas Thursday in view of the "sensitivity" of the issue even as 32 people were arrested for Wednesday's violence in which three people were killed.
"Looking at the sensitivity of the issue we are not carrying out the sealing drive today. Moreover, Delhi Police have also advised us about the same," said Parimal Rai, deputy commissioner (engineering), Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).
"Delhi Police said they cannot provide us with any forces today, and till we get adequate security the sealing of properties cannot continue," Rai told IANS. He said the zonal deputy commissioners were taking stock of the ground situation.
According to MCD sources, the sealing squads fear a threat to their lives and have refused to step out.
Meanwhile, 32 people have been arrested on charges of instigating violence in Seelampur in northeast Delhi during the clash between traders and police on Wednesday that witnessed large-scale damage to property.
The civic authorities managed to seal only 29 shops in the 12 zones of Delhi in the wake of the widespread violence and protest by over 500 trade bodies.
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit late Wednesday ordered a magisterial inquiry into the violence and the subsequent police firing in Seelampur.
The team will inquire into the involvement of anti-social elements in the Seelampur violence, said sources in the chief minister's office.
Police are on the lookout for some Bangladeshis who they suspect were behind the firing on the protesting crowds with country-made weapons.
A Rapid Action Force company and another from the Delhi Police Armed Constabulary have been deployed to maintain vigil Thursday in the violence-rocked areas.

