Delhi Police have registered an FIR against unidentified persons after a large number of fish were found dead in the Yamuna near Sonia Vihar in northeast Delhi, opening a formal investigation into an incident that has renewed concerns about pollution in the river.
The FIR was registered at Wazirabad police station following a complaint from the irrigation and flood control department, officials said. A senior police officer said the case includes sections relating to mischief and spreading false information.
The police action follows the circulation of videos showing numerous dead fish floating in the Yamuna near Sonia Vihar. The videos surfaced on social media two days before the FIR was registered and triggered public concern over the condition of the river and the possibility of a toxic discharge.
However, the exact cause of the fish deaths has not been confirmed. The police have registered the case against unidentified persons, and the available information does not establish whether the deaths were caused by a discharge, pollution event or any other specific source.
The complaint from the irrigation and flood control department places the incident within the responsibilities of agencies tasked with managing the river and floodplain environment in the capital. The FIR gives the police a formal basis to examine the circumstances surrounding the deaths and determine whether any offence was committed.
The incident also highlights the difficulty of responding to visible pollution events in the Yamuna, where public alarm can emerge before the cause or source is established. In this case, images of the dead fish prompted concern and allegations of possible toxic contamination, but those allegations remain unconfirmed in the information available so far.
The inclusion of provisions related to spreading false information indicates that investigators are also examining whether inaccurate claims accompanied the circulation of the videos or public allegations. That provision does not, by itself, establish that the fish deaths were fabricated or that pollution did not occur; the underlying cause remains part of the investigation.
For residents near Sonia Vihar and other stretches of the river, the incident has brought renewed attention to the river’s environmental condition and the process by which authorities respond to suspected contamination. The police case is currently focused on unidentified persons, while the source of the fish deaths has yet to be determined.
Further developments will depend on the investigation arising from the department’s complaint and any findings by the authorities on what caused the fish deaths near Sonia Vihar.
