Riot victims allege police forced them to file false complaints against Pracha, cops reject charge

According to his office, Pracha is representing, pro bono, nearly 100 people accused in various cases related to the communal riots that broke out in northeast Delhi in February.

A group of Delhi riot victims on Friday alleged that the police was pressuring them to file false complaints against advocate Mehmood Pracha, whose office was raided by the police on Thursday in connection with an alleged forgery complaint.

According to his office, Pracha is representing, pro bono, nearly 100 people accused in various cases related to the communal riots that broke out in northeast Delhi in February.

At a press conference held at the Press Club, the victims also claimed that the police threatened them to withdraw complaints and did not file cases. Sahil Parvez, whose father was allegedly shot dead by rioters, said, “Police officials and authorities did not listen to me while preparing medico-legal certificates or first information reports. Even though I named the rioters, no action was taken against them. Some were arrested and later released on bail. During this time, I was constantly threatened to withdraw my case.”

Delhi Police spokesperson Anil Mittal said, “All such allegations are false and baseless. Investigation into cases is being done solely on merits.”

Mohammad Wasim,who was seen in viral video showing police assaulting a group of residents and forcing them to sing the national anthem, said, the police refused to register an FIR in the case. “We sought Pracha’s help and were later threatened by police officials at Jyoti Nagar police station to withdraw our case. Police also told us that the person who was going to help us (Pracha) would also be implicated and killed,” said Wasim, a resident of Kardampuri.

Mohammad Nasir Khan,who was shot at by rioters and lost an eye in the violence, said he received no legal help by the police in the days following the riots. “I had read about Pracha who took up cases pro bono of marginalised people from minority, Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe communities. However, after bringing him on board, we started getting threats that we should withdraw our complaints or get another lawyer,” said Khan, a resident of north Ghonda.

Mohammad Mumtaz, another Delhi riots victim who lost his shop in the February violence in Khajoori Khas, said, “I wanted to name the locals who burnt my shop in the FIR but Dayalpur police personnel insisted on registering FIR against unnamed people. Following this, my house was also burnt by a mob and yet the police insisted on not writing the names of people I identified or even recorded videos of. After we approached Pracha to fight our case, I was asked to file a false complaint against Pracha.”

Communal violence had broken out in northeast Delhi in February 2020 after initial clashes between citizenship law supporters and protesters went out of control and resulted in clashes between Hindus and Muslims. The riots left at least 53 people dead and around 400 injured. Police have arrested at least 21 persons for conspiring to orchestrate the riots. The arrested persons include prominent faces of the anti CAA protests such as former JNU student Umar Khalid, student activists Sharjeel Imam, Natasha Narwal, Devangana Kalita, Safoora Zargar.

Police have alleged that the arrested persons planned the riots, mobilised the rioters under the garb of the sit-in anti-CAA protests while the arrested persons have denied the allegations and accused police of launching a witch-hunt against anti-government voices.