Charge sheets against Tahir Hussain, Pinjra Tod activists in N-E Delhi riots case

At least 53 people were killed and around 400 injured n the violence that started as clashes between protestors for and against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act .

Delhi Police on Tuesday filed two charge sheets in connection with two separate cases registered during the communal rioting that rocked the city’s north-east in February.

Police said their investigation revealed that there was a deep-rooted conspiracy to cause riots in north-east Delhi.(Sanjeev Verma/HT PHOTO)

In one of the charge sheets, the police named suspended Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Tahir Hussain, alleging that he played a “pivotal role” during the riots. The police said Hussain met former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Umar Khalid, who, the department claimed, was part of a larger group organizing the riots and protests in the city.

At least 53 people were killed and around 400 injured n the violence that started as clashes between protestors for and against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act .

While Hussain has been charged under sections dealing with rioting, criminal conspiracy, dacoity, promoting religious enmity and under the Arms Act, the police filed a separate charge sheet against 12 people, including two activists of the women’s group Pinjra Tod. Crime branch officers associated with the probe said that none of the 12 arrested persons are registered members of the Jamia Coordination Committee but the two Pinjra Tod activists were incharge of a sub-group the committe had formed for Jafarabad protest site. None of the 12 have got bail in the case, so far.

The 12 were charged under sections dealing with murder, attempt to murder and criminal conspiracy. The police said they were also part of a larger conspiracy and were be connected to the India Against Hate group and Umar Khalid. Neither Khalid nor his counsel Trideep Pais offered a comment despite repeated phone calls and text messages.

Pinjra Tod, in a statement on social media on May 28, after the arrest of its activists, denied police allegations and called the arrests a witchhunt against students. On Tuesday, it did not comment on grounds that the case is sub judice.

In connection with the violence outside Hussain’s house, the police said it charged 15 people including Hussain and his younger brother Shah Alam. Hussain had got his licensed pistol released from a police station a day before the riots broke out, the police said.The pistol and its licence were deposited in the police station in January because of the Delhi assembly elections. Hussain got it released on February 22. Police have mentioned that Hussain purchased 100 cartridges on his license, but only 64 live cartridges and 22 empty cartridges were recovered at his instance. He was unable to give them any satisfactory answer regarding the remaining live cartridges and use of 22 empty shells during interrogation.

Before Hussain’s arrest, when videos of people throwing stones and hurling Molotov cocktails( purportedly from the terrace of Hussain’s house) surfaced on social media, the suspended AAP councillor denied allegations of his involvement and said he was a victim of the riots.

Police said their investigation revealed that there was a deep-rooted conspiracy to cause riots in north-east Delhi. It said that Hussain was also connected to Khalid Saifi and Umar Khalid , who are part of the larger group of persons organizing the riots and protests. Saifi has been arrested.

Police in the charge sheet said they recovered crates of glass bottles with some liquid filled in them and their necks stuffed with pieces of cloth. It said that these were Molotov cocktails. The police also mentioned that they recovered a large number of bricks, stones and three catapults from Hussain’s house. It said that this points towards the conspiracy and the extent of preparation for causing riots in the area.

Police have claimed that Hussain had taken around ₹1.10 crore from Khalid Saifi and transferred around ₹1.10 crore to fake companies in January. They that Hussain got that amount in cash and distributed to anti –CAA protesters and several other persons in his locality and told his supporters to get ready.

Police have also claimed that they found many buildings near Hussain’s house damaged but Hussain’s house was left untouched by the rioters. According to them, there were several cameras at the house but the forensic department in its report told police that they found no recording from February 23 to 28 (period before and after the riots).

Reacting to the charges against Hussain, his lawyer Javed Ali said that his client has been “falsely implicated,” which was evident from the fact that nothing had been recovered from him during the time he was in police custody or later on. He said certain things had been planted and manipulated against him.

Ali also said the police have not produced a single piece of evidence against Hussain and added that Hussain was implicated in a political conspiracy by his rivals.

In the second charge sheet against the 12 persons, including Pinjra Tod members Devangana Kalita and Natasha Narwal, police said they recovered a WhatsApp message from the phone of one of the accused which listed the steps the women should take if a riot broke out.

The case in which they have been charged, is related to a February 25 incident when protests turned violent and a man died of a gunshot near the Jafrabad metro station. The police also said they recovered 35 spent cartridges from the spot.

Meanwhile, a Delhi court granted bail to Kalita in connection to her alleged involvement in the Daryaganj violence, the same case in which Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Azad has also been accused. The court said there is no direct evidence against her in connection with the violence and that the CCTV camera footage also did not specifically show her involved in any violent activity on December 20. Kalita is still in prison because she is yet to get bail in another case.

A protest call by Azad on the morning of December 20, took a violent turn in the evening, when protesters pelted stones, torched vehicles and two-wheelers outside the Daryaganj police station.