Delhi riots: Message in a probe gone wrong

Delhi Police has done no service to its reputation by its probe into the February riots

Some 751 FIRs registered, 340 cases ‘solved’, 250 charge sheets filed against 1,153 accused, 12 pistols, 121 empty cartridges, 92 live cartridges, 61 glass bottles filled with noxious chemicals and an assortment of sharp-edged weapons used in the riots that ravaged north-east Delhi in late February seized. In the normal course, one should not find fault with such statistics in an investigation into communal violence but Delhi Police is facing tough questions on the way it is conducting the probe.

The Delhi Police, which functions under the Union Home Ministry, faces allegations of attempting to pin the blame for the riots that killed 53 and left 583 injured on anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (anti-CAA) protesters and of slapping the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act against them while leaving out those who made inflammatory speeches and instigated the riots, many of them BJP leaders and ministers. Anti-government activists and academics have been selectively targeted for the probe by the police, which is being dubbed a “witch-hunt”. The police countered the allegation of religious bias with a statement that it had charge-sheeted “571 Hindus and 582 Muslims” in riot cases. The question is, “which Hindus” have been charged? Only critics of the government and supporters of anti-CAA protests or those pro-government, too?

The two charge-sheets filed earlier this month have brought to fore the charges of police partiality towards pro-Hindutva elements. The first one was against three women students in which the names of CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, Swaraj Abhiyan’s Yogendra Yadav, JNU economist Jayati Ghosh, Delhu University Professor Apoorvanand, documentary maker Rahul Roy and student activist Umar Khalid were mentioned as ‘disclosures’. They are accused of mobilising and instigating anti-CAA protesters. Khalid was arrested last week.

The latest charge sheet, filed by Delhi Police’s Special Cell after 195 days of investigations, talks about the “larger conspiracy” behind the riots and pins it on anti-CAA protesters. This charge sheet has named 15 anti-CAA protesters as of now while six others, including Khalid, could find their names in supplementary charge sheets. Deputy Commissioner PS Kushwaha was quoted by PTI on September 14 as saying, “a narrative is being created that pro-CAA/NRC people were involved in it, but it has not come into the investigation yet.” He went on to say that the riots were the result of a “planned conspiracy” because during the investigation, the police found a common pattern – “block the traffic” – that the anti-CAA protesters followed. “It was the first indicator that there was a conspiracy due to which it all started,” he has said.

Of the 751 FIRs, 691 are being investigated by local police while 59, including the killing of Intelligence Bureau personnel Ankit Sharma, are being investigated by the Special Investigation Team of the Crime Branch. The Special Cell is investigating a lone FIR filed on March 6 to “unravel the larger conspiracy” behind the riots. Police appear to be convinced that the riots were pre-planned by anti-CAA protesters and timed it well with the visit of US President Donald Trump to garner international attention on the CAA, which introduces religion as a basis for citizenship.

While police deny that there were any pro-government or pro-CAA links to the riots, the Opposition, activists and academics say those links are being deliberately ignored. They say that police aided a section of the rioters, who are supporters of the BJP. Citing a number of videos that have surfaced since, they say that the police themselves were complicit in the violence, directing mobs pelting stones and remaining mute spectators when Muslims were being targeted. In one video, policemen in uniform can be seen assaulting Muslim youths and forcing them to sing the national anthem. One of the victims, Faizan, succumbed to his injuries later. No action has been taken against the police personnel.

The riots started on February 23 afternoon, minutes after Delhi BJP leader Kapil Mishra addressed his supporters near Jafrabad, where women anti-CAA protesters were holding a protest. Mishra, with a Deputy Commissioner of Police standing beside him, warned the protesters and police that he would give them three days to clear the road, or else…

Minutes later, the first violent actions started.

Delhi had been simmering since January, with the BJP spewing venom against the women anti-CAA protesters at Shaheen Bagh throughout the Delhi Assembly election campaign. From Home Minister Amit Shah to UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, every BJP leader targeted the anti-CAA protests. Union Minister Anurag Thakur called the protesters “traitors” and his supporters shouted “shoot the traitors”; Kapil Mishra and West Delhi MP Parvesh Verma took the communal campaign to new lows. It set the tone for the subsequent riots, but the police have refused to act. None of the BJP leaders have been called for questioning before or after the elections or the riots.

Activists also point to an official communication from Special Commissioner (Crime and Economic Offences Wing) of Delhi Police Praveer Ranjan on July 8 asking investigators to exercise “due care and precaution” to avoid “Hindu resentment” while making arrests in riots cases, citing “intelligence input” about the arrest of “some Hindu youth from Chand Bagh and Khajuri Khas areas of Northeast Delhi”. It also referred to Hindu resentment for not arresting two minority community members who were accused of mobilising crowds during the riots. Police have denied any mischief, saying they were only taking note of information they received in an “unbiased manner”.

One of the scathing criticisms of Delhi Police’s investigation came from former top cop Julio Ribeiro, who shot off a letter to Delhi Police Commissioner S N Shrivastava, saying that the investigators were targeting peaceful protesters while ignoring senior BJP leaders who made provocative, communal speeches. Shrivastava denied the charge and insisted that a “false narrative” of bias and insensitivity” was being weaved by certain groups with vested interests. Ribeiro noted that the police chief simply ignored his doubts on why BJP leaders Mishra, Thakur and Verma’s “communal” speeches were being ignored.

According to Delhi Police, “various interest groups” are using social media platforms and digital media to raise questions about the fairness of its investigation. “Some are taking out a few lines out of the charge sheets filed in the courts out of context in order to create a controversy and doubt about the investigation. Their assertion is not true and instead, motivated. It is worth mentioning that it is for the Police to conduct an investigation and submit its report to the Court to take cognisance in the matter for trial. Those raising questions may instead take it up in the court of law at the appropriate time as per established judicial process,” it said.

For many, Delhi Police’s actions in the riot cases are not reassuring. They feel that they are dancing to the tunes of their political masters. Delhi Police will have to ensure that its investigations are impartial and people come to see them as such. But that may be a tall order for Delhi Police now.