Delhi Police chargesheet on riots only names anti CAA protestors

Fifteen people, all linked to protests against the Centre’s controversial new citizenship law, have been named in the Delhi Police’s vast chargesheet filed in the Delhi riots that took place in February this year. Not a single person who was in the campaign’s favour has been named.

More than 50 people died and property worth crores was damaged in the riots.

The 17,500-page chargesheet includes charges under the tough anti-terror Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Among those named are a number of student activists. The police also said that their investigation in the case is ongoing and it expects to file a supplementary chargesheet against the accused who have not been named so far.

“These conspirators were in direct touch with the foot soldiers that resulted in the riots in North East Delhi in February,” the police told the court. It said two WhatsApp groups were used to engineer the riots in Seelampur and Jafrabad that saw some of the worst violence.

“Conspirators planned the riots while middle ring of leaders at the area level executed the plan through the foot soldiers,” the police said. “This was not a democratic protest since beginning. The very beginning of this protest was for instigating violence,” the police told the court.

Communal violence over the centre’s controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) had erupted in Delhi between groups supporting and opposing the law that promised citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from three neighbouring countries. This is widely seen as discriminatory.

The Delhi Police, which reports to the central government and whose role during the riots is also under probe, has been criticised for arresting only members linked to one side of the clash. It has also denied reports that policemen were seen actively helping the other side during the riots.

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