Alpha, Beta, Bond key to Delhi police’s riots probe
Charge sheet in the February riots case refers to ‘insiders’ who have been given pseudonyms
NEW DELHI: Alpha, Beta, Silver, Gold, James and Bond. These are just some of the witnesses, placed under protective custody and referred to by their pseudonyms, who will be the key to the Delhi Police proving that February riots were part of a “planned conspiracy” by some anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act activists and timed with US President Donald Trump’s India visit.
In a charge sheet submitted to a city court on September 16, police have attached the statements of at least 100 “insiders” or “eyewitnesses” (referred to by aliases) who have given statements claiming to have seen some of those arrested -- local leaders Tahir Hussain and Ishrat
Jahan, former JNU student Umar Khalid, activist Gulfisha Khatoon, and Pinjra Tod activists Natasha Narwal and Devangana -- planning the violence.
The witnesses have recorded their statements before a judge under Code of Criminal Procedure 164, which is admissible evidence during a trial. However, the veracity of their statements will be tested during the trial, and some experts contend that the police’s reliance on protected witnesses is a contravention of
investigative procedure.
Delhi Police have maintained that some anti-CAA protest leaders, such as Umar Khalid, along with others such as Hussain, Jahan and other activists, planned the protests, mobilised people and brought different groups together to incite people against the government. They have all denied any wrongdoing.
As evidence of the role of those arrested, one protected witness, referred to by the pseudonym Lambda, has detailed the alleged role played by former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain before a judge. Lambda has claimed to be an eyewitness to the preparations that Hussain made before the riots.
Delhi Police in their case papers claim to have recovered stones, acid bottles, and Molotov cocktails from the terrace of his building. Hussain has denied his role in the violence and said he is a victim of a political conspiracy.
The police charge sheet has the statement of another witness, who has been given the name Bond. In the statement before a judge on April 5, Bond said, “Umar Khalid said that at the right time, they will also start ‘Chakka Jam’ in Muslim areas of Delhi. Khalid said to the protesters that the government is a Hindu government and against Muslims so we have to overthrow the government.”
Claiming to be an insider, Bond has described a meeting on December 16, 2019, in which he said that the group deliberately made women and children sit in the protest sites to ensure that police could not act.Last week,
Khalid’s counsel Trideep Pais told a court Khalid was against CAA but he was not even in Delhi during the riots.There is another witness -- the police call him Beta -- who has claimed to be an insider who joined the protests after watching videos of protesters burning buses near Jamia Millia Islamia last December. The witness told a judge on April 5 that he joined the protest because of sentimental reasons after watching buses burn.
Senior advocate Mahmood Pracha, who has also been named in the disclosure statement of many arrested persons but was not arrested or charged, said: “Police have misused the law related to the use of protected witness. This is a bogus charge sheet... These witnesses are ghost witnesses. Police are not acting like a neutral agency. These witnesses are 100% fake.”
Pracha also said that while the protected witnesses may have given statement before a judge, they will again have to pass the litmus test of a judge during trial. Police did not respond to a request for comment.