2020 Northeast Delhi riots: Court to issue order on April 1 if FIR will be filed against Kapil Mishra
In the other "larger conspiracy" case being investigated by the Delhi Police Special Cell, in which former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain, Umar Khalid, and 16 others have been named accused, 12 people have been behind bars for close to five years.
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In 2020, communal violence singed the district between February 24 and 26, leaving 53 dead, over 500 injured, and property worth crores damaged. (Source: File)A Delhi court on Monday said that it will pass an order on April 1 if an FIR has to be filed against Delhi Law and Justice Minister and BJP leader Kapil Mishra over his alleged role in the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots.
The complainant in the case is Yamuna Vihar resident Mohammad Ilyas who approached the court seeking an FIR against Mishra, the then SHO of Dayalpur, and five others, including BJP MLA Mohan Singh Bisht and former BJP MLAs Jagdish Pradhan and Satpal Sansad.
Earlier in February, the Delhi Police had opposed the plea of the complainant stating that Mishra was being “framed” in the matter and that he had no role to play in the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots.
Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad told the court that Mishra’s role had already been investigated in the case related to a larger conspiracy behind the riots, which rocked the capital in February 2020, and that nothing incriminating was found against him.
Ilyas, who was represented in court by Mehmood Pracha, said in his complaint that he saw Mishra and others blocking a road in Northeast Delhi’s Kardam Puri and destroying carts of vendors. He had also claimed that the then DCP (NE), along with other police personnel, was standing next to Mishra and allegedly warning the protestors to vacate the area or face consequences.
The complainant also claimed that he saw the then Dayalpur SHO, along with BJP leaders Pradhan, Bisht, and Sansad, allegedly vandalising mosques across Northeast Delhi.
In 2020, communal violence singed the district between February 24 and 26, leaving 53 dead, over 500 injured, and property worth crores damaged. Five years since the riots, verdicts have been pronounced in 109 of 695 cases of rioting, arson, and unlawful assembly filed by the district police.
The Indian Express looked at the detailed orders of all 109 judgments and found that 90 resulted in acquittals (82%) and 19 in convictions (18%). The acquittals, records show, are split evenly between the two communities.
In the other “larger conspiracy” case being investigated by the Delhi Police Special Cell, in which former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain, Umar Khalid, and 16 others have been named accused, 12 people have been behind bars for close to five years. Six of the accused in this case are out on bail.
While Mishra was never arrested for his alleged role during the riots, a magistrate court in Delhi earlier this month said that it will begin hearing arguments on the charges against him in connection with a case lodged under the Representation of the People Act (RPA) accusing him of promoting communal enmity during the 2020 Delhi Assembly Elections which also took place in February.
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