The horrors of the north-east Delhi riots are still fresh in the memories of Mohd. Wakeel, a resident of Shiv Vihar, and Mallika, a resident of Bhagwati Nagar, a year since the violence destroyed their lives.
Ms. Mallika fights back tears as she recounts February 25, 2020, when she last saw her husband, Musharraf, whom she hid in a box bed in their home before applying sindoor (vermilion) and fleeing with her three-year-old son. Mr. Wakeel’s scars do not even allow him to tear up as he lost both his eyes when a mob threw acid on his face.
A common thread that binds the victims, who shared their stories at the Press Club of India on Tuesday on the first anniversary of the riots, is the loss of trust in the police who, they alleged, did not answer their distress calls during the riots and afterwards, when they sought justice.
Speaking at the event, Communist Party of India (Marxist) Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat alleged that there has been a “deliberate subversion of justice as truth has been hijacked to serve political interests and to save BJP leaders who were seen in the area during the riots”.
‘Government protection’
She said BJP leader Kapil Mishra, who is accused of making inflammatory spee-ches ahead of the riots, had the temerity to say that “he could repeat what he did a year ago, if need be” because the “government has given protection to these leaders ”.
Ms. Karat also questioned the role of the Delhi police and alleged that the number of personnel deployed was grossly inadequate to tackle the violence. “On February 23, 2020, there were 1,393 police and central forces deployed [in the area] and 700 distress calls were received, most of which went unanswered. On February 24, 2020, 13 deaths were reported and the [Union] Home Ministry added only six more personnel, as the official figure for deployment on that day according to the Delhi police’s own submission to the court is 1,399.”
She said it was only on the evening of February 24, 2020 that Section 144 of the CrPC was imposed. The number of police personnel was increased to 4,291 and 4,663 in the next two days when 29 and eight deaths, respectively, were reported.
Ms. Karat said despite the victims alleging that the police did not come to their rescue, the Delhi police have given themselves a clean chit by saying no cognisable offence has been found in the manner in which they conducted themselves.
“We demand an independent probe into the communal violence in north-east Delhi. The role of the police needs to be questioned and questions need to be asked about how the Capital was allowed to burn for five days under the eyes of the Home Minister himself,” she said.
