The Delhi court has pulled up Delhi Police on its investigation into the Delhi communal violence that took place in February 2020.
“Perusal of the case diary reveals a disturbing fact. The investigation seems to be targeted only towards one end. Upon enquiry from Inspector Lokesh and Anil, they have failed to point out what investigation has been carried out so far regarding the involvement of the rival faction,” Additional Sessions Judge Dharmender Rana observed on Wednesday 27 May.
The Patiala House Court judge made this examination in a hand-written ruling during a hearing on the custody of Jamia Millia Islamia student Asif Iqbal Tanha, who was arrested by the police last week.
The court placed Tanha in judicial custody for a period of 30 days.
“This is an extremely important observation as far as the entire probe into the Delhi riots is concerned,” Tanha’s lawyer Sowjhanya Shankaran told The Quint.
Since a majority of the arrests made by the police in connection with the riots, are those who were part of protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, it appears that this is what the court is referring to this when it says “one direction only”.
It seems that the rival-faction are the pro-CAA or right-wingers who may have taken part in communal violence. Therefore the court may have indirectly corroborated what many activists has been alleging that while the leaders and participants of anti-CAA protests are constantly booked and arrested, the other side remains free.
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Earlier at a press briefing held on video-conference app Zoom, former student leaders Kanhaiya Kumar and Umar Khalid hit out at the police for arresting Jamia Millia Islamia and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students for their alleged involvement in orchestrating communal riots in northeast Delhi.
While Kapil Mishra who gave an ultimatum to the protestors to vacate the area within three days with the DCP standing near him, has not been charged by the police yet there are news of activists who had coordinated and engaged in the protests been booked daily.
The court has urged the concerned DCP to “monitor” the probe to “ensure a fair investigation.
(Image Credit- Getty Images)
