Understanding the ‘Chronology’ of Delhi Riots

Home minister’s chronology and excellence of the Delhi Police

The Delhi police has filed a comprehensive 17,000 page chargesheet naming 15 accused.
The chargesheet is based on ‘scientific, documentary and testimonial evidence’ gathered during the
investigation, the police says.
However, the Delhi police has been criticized for “trying to link anti-CAA protesters with the Delhi
riots”. But what needs to be noted is that there is a clearly established link between the anti-CAA
protesters and Delhi riots. Let’s try to understand how.
On 22 nd February 2020, a sit-in protest was started by a group of women. The next day, on 23 rd
February, Kapil Mishra of the BJP said in a rally “We have given a three-day ultimatum to the Delhi
Police to get the road cleared. Get the Jaffrabad and Chand Bagh road cleared”. If the road is not
cleared, the politician roared in presence of a DCP, his supporters would “take matters into their
own hands”.
On 24 th February, people did start “taking matters into their own hands”. Whether or not they were
Kapil Mishra’s supporters is for him to clarify. However, we can make some guesses if we try to
understand what exactly happened on that day.
The violence started with an attack on the Chand Bagh protest site by a group of unknown men. This
was in the morning. Following that, in the afternoon, a petrol pump in Chand Bagh was set on fire.
Around the same time, the sit-in protest at Chand Bagh was reportedly attacked with petrol bombs.
Later, a video surfaced. This was another location- northeast Delhi’s Jaffrabad. The video showed a
33-year-old man named Sharukh moving towards a policeman with a gun.
Next, a mazar was set on fire by a mob in Chand Bagh. At night around 8:30 PM, Gokalpuri’s tyre
market was set on fire. The area predominantly consists of shops owned by Muslim businesspersons.
Basically, some people did take matters into their own hands. Irrespective of whether they were
supporters of Kapil Mishra or not, we all do need to introspect the consequences of taking matters
into our own hands. 8 people lost their lives that day.
The violence continued on 25 th February as well. A correspondent for JK 24x7 News was shot at in
east Delhi’s Maujpur. Four reporters and camerapersons of NDTV were assaulted. A 14-year-old boy
named Faizan was shot near his spine.
A mob set fire to buildings at a chowk underneath the highway in Khajuri Khas. A mosque was set on
fire in Ashok Nagar and a Hanuman flag was placed on the minaret of the masjid. Two mosques in
Mustafabad were attacked at night. A garage in Shiv Vihar was also burned. The violent day of 25 th
February ended S.N. Shrivastava being appointed as the New Delhi Police Commissioner.

During the two days of violence on 24 th and 25 th September, mainly anti-CAA protesters and Muslims
were targeted. Here is the direct link between anti-CAA protesters and Delhi riots.
Another important question that must be asked is, what was the Delhi Police doing during these two
days? The day of 26 th February began with editorials in national newspapers condemning Delhi
Police. The same day, the Supreme Court also criticized the Delhi Police for its handling of the riots.
What’s even more interesting is that the Delhi HC asked the police to file FIRs against BJP leaders
Anurag Thakur, Parvesh Verma, and Kapil Mishra for allegedly making hate speeches that incited
violence. The next day, HC took a U-turn. Well, the link between BJP leaders and Delhi riots can wait.
More than 600 FIRs were filed with the Delhi police in relation to the riots. Out of them, around 410
FIRs were filed by Muslim complainants and 190 were filed by Hindus. A total of 53 people were
killed in the violence, 38 of whom were Muslim.
Interestingly, the Delhi police filed charges against 1,153 people. Out of whom, 582 were Muslim
and 571 were Hindus. Now, the loss of life as well as guilt cannot be looked at from the lens of
religious identity. If these were ideal times, the numbers mentioned above would have meant
nothing.
However, the problem is the overwhelming evidence that suggests police bias. Not only did the Delhi
police utterly fail in stopping the violence, but it is also accused of abetting it by supporting Hindu
mobs led by BJP leaders.
If you want an even deeper understanding of this ‘chronology’ then let’s try to understand the Union
Home Ministers stand on the riots. He initially said the riots were ‘spontaneous’. Only later did he
realize and spell out the larger conspiracy that the Delhi police chargesheet narrates. What
coincidence that Amit Shah had already told the parliament what the police found after months of
investigation.
What was the “grand controversy”? Basically, the anti-CAA protests in Delhi were just a ‘cover-up’
for the larger plan of the Delhi riots. The likes of Umar Khalid and gang were planning this since
months before. That too, on a WhatsApp chat (according to the Delhi Police).
If this saga of deceit and lies at the hands of peaceful protesters in Delhi is true, then why did the
Central government which is equipped with multiple agencies fail to prevent the violence in Delhi?
Apparently, state apparatus fell short of preventing a conspiracy that was planned on WhatsApp.