The cops are keeping an eye on if attempts are being made to instigate people. (File)
Delhi Police are on alert ahead of the Lok Sabha elections and have increased vigilance in communally sensitive areas. A February-2 memo asked top police officers in the city to monitor the mood of the public, pointing to a court order allowing Hindus to worship in a cellar at Varanasi's Gyanvapi mosque.
"The emotive issue is being discussed among the members of other community in Delhi on Social Media and personal Spaces. As such, there is need of monitoring the mood and temper of both the communities and maintaining extra vigil around religious spaces, especially around Mosques during Friday prayers on 02.02.2024," the memo read.
Members of a Hindu priests' family started praying at a cellar in the Gyanvapi basement last Thursday after a district court ordered its unsealing. The premise was sealed 30 years ago on the orders of then Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, shortly after the Babri Masjid demolition.
Significantly, the alert comes after the razing of a mosque in Delhi and the January 22 consecration of the Ram temple.
The police memo said the Gyanvapi issue "assumes significance for other community" in the backdrop of the Ram temple consecration.
The cops are keeping an eye on if attempts are being made to instigate people on these lines. They have been asked to compile a list of individuals and groups accused of instigating violence during the citizenship law protests in 2020. Travel details and other activities of the suspects will also be checked.
North East District Police, which has been on alert after 2020, always maintains a list of people who they suspect can spoil the atmosphere.