Delhi Police has registered an FIR and arrested one person after large numbers of fish were found dead in the Yamuna near Sonia Vihar, with the accused later released on bail. The cause of the deaths remains unclear as authorities investigate the incident ahead of Chhath पूजा at several river ghats.
The FIR was registered at Wazirabad police station on the complaint of the Irrigation and Flood Control Department, according to Delhi Police. The case has been filed under Sections 353, 352 and 240 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Police said the arrested person was subsequently released on bail.
The investigation is also examining the involvement of other people. Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Niharika Bhatta had earlier said that a case would be registered against unidentified persons and that efforts were under way to establish who was involved in the incident. She said the police would investigate whether the episode was an act of mischief and take action against anyone found responsible.
The immediate official action has not established why the fish died. The precise cause remains under investigation, and the supplied report does not cite a laboratory assessment, water-quality test or official environmental finding that confirms whether the deaths resulted from pollution, deliberate dumping or another factor.
The incident has become part of a political dispute in Delhi. Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party had placed dead fish in the river shortly before Chhath. Water Minister Parvesh Verma also alleged that the fish had been thrown into the Yamuna to discredit efforts by the Bharatiya Janata Party government to clean the river. These allegations have not been established by the police investigation described in the report.
The Aam Aadmi Party has demanded an investigation into the deaths. Its Delhi unit president said the complaint did not state that fish had been brought from elsewhere and placed in the river, and argued that the fish may have died because of polluted water. The party called on the government to determine how thousands of fish had died.
Local residents, as reported by news agency Bhasha, alleged that waste discharged into the Yamuna by a tannery near the Hathnikund barrage had caused the deaths. That allegation too remains unverified in the available material. No official agency has been cited as confirming the tannery-related claim.
The timing has heightened public concern because devotees are expected to visit different Yamuna ghats for Chhath पूजा. The episode has therefore brought renewed attention to the condition of the river, the monitoring of waste discharges and the responsibility of agencies overseeing water quality and flood-control infrastructure. The immediate next step is the police investigation to identify those involved and establish the cause of the fish deaths.
