Jahangirpuri riots planned, says report by Delhi Police

NEW DELHI: The violence during Hanuman Jayanti procession in Jahangirpuri in April was not a spontaneous outburst but a pre-planned conspiracy, indicates the charge sheet filed by Delhi Police.

According to the 2,063-page document, one of the CCTV footages captured by a PWD camera installed at C-285 near the shop of accused Babudin shows that a large number of glass bottles, packed in 8-10 sacks, were already stored near the shop prior to the incident. “The same bottles were used by the rioters during the incident. They could be seen taking bottles and dragging the sacks,” said a police source.

On Thursday, a Rohini court took the cognisance of the charge sheet and issued production warrants and summons for all accused to be presented in court on the next date of hearing on August 6. The charge sheet further says that the Crime Branch investigation into the violence has established that the incident was a continuation of the protests against CAA-NRC of 2019-2020 in Shaheen Bagh and the Northeast Delhi.

“The procession was proceeding peacefully. But when it reached near Jama Masjid, C-Block, around 6 pm, accused Ansar came there along with his associates and started arguing with the members of the procession. That culminated in stone pelting and use of violence,” said a police source.