A lower court has pulled up the Delhi Police on its probe into the communal violence that took place in February 2020.
“Perusal of the case diary reveals a disturbing fact. The investigation seems to be targetted 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 judge, who sits at the Patiala House Court, made this observation 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 on judicial custody for a period of 30 days.
Why This Is Significant
“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”.
The “rival faction” therefore would be pro-CAA or right wing elements who may have taken part in the communal violence. Therefore the court may have indirectly vindicated what many activists have been alleging for some time now - that the police is going soft on the right wingers and targetting mainly the anti-CAA protesters.
The court has urged the concerned DCP to “monitor” the probe to “ensure a fair investigation.
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