Delhi Court directed police authorities to examine BJP leader and Delhi Law Minster Kapil Mishra for his alleged role in the 2020 Delhi Riots. The court’s direction comes despite Delhi Police claims that it had probed Mishra in the matter and cleared him for the same.
This means an FIR (against Kapil Mishra), the court orally observed.
The court concluded that further investigation was warranted as cognisable offence was found against Mishra with regards to an incident where the BJP leader gave a speech a day before communal riots broke out in the nation’s capital.
The court’s order comes five years after communal riots broke out in Delhi claiming 53 lives and injuring hundreds. On February 23, 2020—a day before Delhi Riots broke out— Mishra, flanked by then DCP (Northeast) Ved Prakash Surya, had given a speech that allegedly triggered the violence. In a 41-second clip which went viral across social media, Mishra had warned protesters to clear the site or else consequences would follow once visiting dignitary US President Donald Trump left the nation’s capital.
Delhi court also directed police officials to “examine” why DCP Surya was allegedly “wandering the streets saying, ‘that if you don't stop the protest [anti-CAA protests], then the consequence will happen here that you all will be killed’”. Court observed that Surya needs to be interrogated on his presence and what transpired between him and Mishra on February 23.
“It is what can be modestly said is in case protest sites are not vacated, the life would be at stake,” the order read. “His personal interrogation is necessary. The series of events reveals that perhaps, if allegations of complainant are found to be true, then DCP Ved Prakash Surya knows something which this Judiciary does not,” it added.
The court’s order came on a plea filed by Mohammed Ilyas, a resident of Northeast Delhi who sought an FIR against Mishra for his alleged role in the communal violence. Mishra will be probed for the incident where he and his associates blocked a road broke carts belonging to Muslims and Dalits.
Kapil Mishra accepts he was present in the area before riots began: Court
Delhi court said prosecution’s material and Kapil Mishra’s own admission during interrogation put him in the northeast district of Delhi where the riots broke out. “All the things were corroborating,” the court noted. Therefore, his presence cannot be ruled out further fortifying the allegations…,” the court added.
Delhi court further noted that while the prosecution “bifurcated between pro-CAA and anti-CAA”, Mishra said “mere saamne uss samay karib 50-60 log the. DUSRI TARAF MUSLIM ki karib 500-700 logo ki bheed thi (in front of me there were around 50-60 people, but opposite us there were around 500-700 Muslims”.
Mishra has “not framed his statement under pro-CAA or anti-CAA but rather ‘DUSRI TARAF MUSLIM’ with the distinction of ‘us’ and ‘them’, wherein them is ‘DUSRI TARAF MUSLIM’. This clearly establishes sides and required investigation to unearth the truth,” the court said.
From the prosecution’s notes on Mishra’s interrogation where he mentioned DCP Surya at least thrice, the court highlighted the BJP leader’s statement on February 23, 2020 a day before Delhi Riots broke out: “Maine DCP Sahab se kaha tha ki hum ab jaa rahe hai, aap road khulva de, nahi to hum bhi road khulvane ke liye dhaarne par baith jaaenge” (I had told the DCP that we are going (to the area now), open the roads or else we will also sit in protest to demand the clearing of the roads).
This, the court noted, was “not a request or assertion but ultimatum”.
This Court concluded that it did not believe the prosecution’s contention that Mishra was interrogated and cleared of his role while investigating the Delhi Riots conspiracy case.
