Brinda Karat files PIL in HC for making public list of those arrested in Delhi violence

A PIL was moved in the Delhi High Court on Thursday by CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat seeking directions to the police to make public the list of persons arrested in connection with the violence in the northeast Delhi.

The petition has sought that a list of the arrested persons be put up outside the police control room and police stations in the district and it be updated on a case-by-case basis.

It also urged the court to call for a status report containing the names and numbers of the persons detained and arrested by Delhi Police in relation to the violence that killed at least 42 people and left around 200 injured.

"As per media reports, the police have arrested or detained over 1,600 persons, yet there is no list of such persons provided. The opacity of police action leads to misinformation and mistrust in the minds of the people and is also contrary to law," the plea said.

Terming the violence as a 'pogrom', the CPI(M) leader has sought a direction to the police to upload on its website the over 500 FIRs that it has claimed to have registered in connection with the violence.

It has also urged the court to direct that "all complaints alleging acts, offences and atrocities by members of the police, Rapid Action Force or state functionaries in relation to the widespread attacks in northeast Delhi be investigated by an independent investigating agency/team".

Karat has further stated that "accountability and transparency on the part of the police and strict implementation of the legal safeguards as provided in the Criminal Procedure Code and enshrined through judicial pronouncements are crucial at this stage so as to deliver justice to the victims".

She has alleged that information received from victims in the area have revealed that due to the "abject failure of the police and their alleged complicity in the pogrom", there is still a sense of fear among the people and therefore, the situation there may not return to normalcy.