In a major development, the Delhi High Court which has called out the Delhi Police for bias investigations multiple times has cleared out that the Northeast Delhi riots “did not take place in a spur of the moment” and that the conduct of protesters as per videos visibly portrays that it was a calculated attempt to “dislocate the functioning” of the government as well as to disrupt the city’s normal life.
While denying the bail application of a man accused of killing Constable Head Ratan Lal and seriously injuring a police officer, Justice Subramonium Prasad issued a strong statement about the riots that rocked Northeast Delhi last year.
The HC poited out that the systematic disconnection and destruction of the CCTV cameras further confirmed the existence of a pre-planned and pre-meditated conspiracy to disturb law and order in the city. This was also evident from the fact that “innumerable rioters ruthlessly act that in descended with sticks, dandas, bats etc. upon a hopelessly outnumbered cohort of police officials”, it said.
“The riots which shook the National Capital of the country in February 2020 evidently did not take place in a spur of the moment, and the conduct of the protestors who are present in the video footage which has been placed on record by the prosecution visibly portrays that it was a calculated attempt to dislocate the functioning of the Government as well as to disrupt the normal life of the people in the city,” the court said.
Dismissing Ibrahim’s bail application, the court ruled that the existing video footage showing the applicant with a sword was “very bad” and sufficient to keep him in custody.
The judge, while acknowledging the importance of personal freedom through democratic processes, clarified that “individual freedom cannot be abused in the way that threatens the very civilized sector by trying to destabilize and harm other people”.
Delhi police have deployed more than 111 FIRS, listing 650 people as suspects including prominent anti-CAA protesters.
