In response to queries under the Right to Information Act, the Delhi Police has revealed how many places of worship were damaged during the Northeast Delhi Riots in the last week of February this year.
According to official figures given by the police, eight mosques, two temples, two Madrasas and one Dargah were damaged during the riots.
This data was given by the police in response to two separate queries filed by Delhi-based RTI activist Yusuf Naqi.
In response to Naqi’s query asking specifically about the number of Muslim places of worship - mosques, Dargahs and Madrasas - attacked, damaged or burnt, the police said, “As per report of all SHOs/NED, as per available record, 8 mosques, 2 Madrasas & 1 Dargah were damaged in this district".
However, this is different from the figure given by the Delhi Waqf Board, according to which 19 mosques had been damaged during the riots.
Then regarding a query on Hindu places of worship, the police responded, “as per available record, two temples were damaged in this district.
The police declined to provide the details of specifically which Muslim and Hindu places of worship were damaged during the communal violence citing that the information was “sensitive” in nature.
Number of FIRs Lodged and Arrests Made
In response to Naqi’s queries, the police also revealed that 11 FIRs have been filed in connection with the attack on mosques, Madrasas and Dargahs, 31 people have been arrested out of which seven are out on bail and that four charge sheets have been filed so far.
The corresponding figure for Hindu places of worship are: two FIRs have been lodged, one charge sheet has been filed and two people have been arrested of which none are out on bail.
These responses were given on 9 June so the details of the number of charge sheets and arrests may have changed since then.
The police declined to provide details of the people who have been arrested in connection with both the sets of cases.
During the communal violence in Northeast Delhi, The Quint had reported on the attack on Chand Masjid in Ashok Nagar. A viral video showed a saffron flag being unfurled on top of the Masijd. While many on social media claimed that the video was fake, The Quint went to the mosque and found out that it indeed was vandalised and a flag saying “Jai Shri Ram” unfurled on top of it.
Keep tracking our series of exclusive stories about the investigation into the Delhi Riots.
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