Jahangirpuri Violence Continuation of Anti-CAA Protests, Delhi Riots: Police

The Crime Branch of the Delhi Police has framed a 2,063-pages long charge sheet and submitted it in a Delhi court.

File images: Families of accused (left); saffron flags thrown inside Jahangirpuri mosque (right).

(Photo: The Quint)

The Delhi Police on Thursday, 14 July, claimed that the Jahangirpuri violence, which took place on 16 April this year, was in “continuation of the protests against CAA and NRC of 2019 and 2020 in Shaheen Bagh and the northeast Delhi riots of 2020, which got further aggravated after Ram Navmi incidents on 10 April in different parts of the country.”

The claims are a part of the 2,063-pages long charge sheet which was submitted in a Delhi court by the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police on Thursday. The Delhi Police claimed that 132 witnesses were examined, of which 85 are police personnel, and 47 are public persons, doctors, and others.

On 16 April, clashes broke out during a Hanuman Jayanti procession in northwest Delhi’s Jahangirpuri. An FIR was filed at the Jahangirpuri police station after a complaint was received by Inspector Rajeev Ranjan, who was deployed in the area at the time.

Here are the claims by the Delhi police in the charge sheet filed on Thursday:

• Eight accused persons are absconding against whom proceeding under section 82 CrPC underway.

• Total nine Fire Arms, five live cartridges, two empty cartridges, nine swords and clothes of 11 accused persons worn at the time of incident and seen in videos have been recovered.

• CCTV footage of 28 cameras of PWD installed around Kusal Cinema Road, 30 Cameras of PWD installed around C-Block, Jahangirpuri were obtained and analysed.

• 34 viral videos and 56 videos from electronic media were collected and analysed.

• 20 out of 37 accused persons arrested have been captured in CCTV footages or viral videos.

• Total 21 mobile phones were seized from accused persons.

• Total 132 witnesses were examined out of which 85 police and 47 public persons/doctors and others.

• PIR against two juveniles has been filed before the Principal JJ Board.

• Total 13 teams were deployed for verifying background details of accused persons, dump data, Technical (FRS) Analyses, viral videos collections, CCTV footage collection arrest of accused persons, financial aspect, and conspiracy angel etc.

What the FIR in the 16 April Violence Said

In his statement, Inspector Ranjan claimed that the Hanuman Jayanti procession was underway peacefully but when it reached near C-block mosque, a man with about five more people started arguing with those taking part in the procession.

The police personnel in his statement claimed that stone-pelting erupted from both sides. In the FIR, he said: “Police engaged in security for the religious procession separated the two groups but after some time clashes erupted between the two sides.”

The FIR was filed under sections of rioting, attempt to murder, criminal conspiracy, unlawful assembly, assault of public servant, among other sections of the IPC. Apart from this, relevant sections of the Arms Act too were added to the FIR.

Soon after the incident, the case was transferred from the local police to the Crime Branch, and the police said that "13 teams were deployed to verify background details of the accused, do technical analysis, collect viral videos, analyse CCTV footage, and probe the financial aspect and conspiracy angle."