Police complicity must be probed in Delhi clash: Court
Cops stood like a wall between clashing groups that were throwing stones and bottles: Delhi Police
NEW DELHI: A Delhi court has said that the possible complicity of police officers in events that led to recent communal clashes in Jahangirpuri needs to be probed, adding that instead of stopping an illegal procession on Hanuman Jayanti, policemen accompanied those marching in the area.
Additional sessions judge Gagandeep Singh said in an order on Saturday that the procession held on April 16 did not have proper permission from the police, which accompanied the crowd along the entire route.
“It appears that the local police instead of performing their duty in stopping the said illegal procession in the beginning itself and dispersing the crowd, was accompanying them to the entire route which later on led to unfortunate riots between the two communities,” the additional sessions judge said.
Deputy commissioner of police Usha Rangnani said in a statement: “It is being circulated in media that local police of Jahangirpuri was present during the procession (Shobha Yatra) and didn’t stop it, despite the fact that it had no permissions. In this regard, it is stated that police has a prime and very focused responsibility of maintaining law and order in the area. If any situation erupts, then police has to see to it that situation doesn’t worsen and that’s the reason adequate policemen were there.”
Clashes broke out between Hindu and Muslim groups during a religious procession in northwest Delhi’s Jahangirpuri area on April 16, injuring some policemen and a resident. The incident took place when a procession of 350-400 people to mark Hanuman Jayanti was crossing Jahangirpuri’s C-block, where a scuffle first broke out and then escalated into stone pelting.
Noting the fact that the procession during which the rioting took place was “illegal”, the court said: “If that was the situation, then the contents of the FIR itself show that the local staff of police station Jahangirpuri, led by inspector Rajiv Ranjan as well as other officials from DCP reserve, were accompanying the said illegal procession on its route instead of stopping it.” It said that prima facie, there was “utter failure” of the Delhi Police in stopping the procession. The “issue seems to have been simply brushed aside by the senior officers”, the court added.