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Delhi Police denied permission for ‘Shree Ram Bhagwan Pratima Yatra’ on Ram Navami proposed for March 30 in Jahangirpuri. The DCP, North west Delhi responded to a request seeking permission for the same and denied the permission citing law and order issues.
Why could there be a law and order situation?
Communal clashes allegedly broke out during a procession in northwest Delhi’s Jahangirpuri area on April 16, 2022. Violence broke out in the area when a religious procession of the majority community made its way past a mosque on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti. Nine people, including eight police personnel, were injured during the violence. It is alleged that procession participants allegedly chanted abusive slogans, entered a mosque during namaz and tried to plant a saffron flag inside.
The violence was followed by an “anti-encroachment drive” in the area. The local civic body, which is run by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said the drive was launched to clear illegal constructions in the area. But Muslims say their properties were disproportionately targeted and they also questioned the timing of the drive, which continued for an hour after the Supreme Court gave an interim order to stop it.
What happened in the Jahangirpuri violence case?
Further, in a chargesheet filed on July 14 and July 28, 2022, before the court of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate in Rohini, the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police have confirmed that members of the Shobha Yatra passing through Jahangirpuri on Hanuman Jayanti were indeed armed.
In the chargesheet it was further stated that the accused (attackers) were active on a Whatsapp group where they shared “hate speech messages against the other community/religion”, and that the group was called “Kabutar Sell Group”. Police named Tabrez Ansari as the main accused in the case. The chargesheet names 37 people who were arrested.
Charges have been filed under Section 307 (attempt to murder), Section 120 B (criminal conspiracy), Section 34 (Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention), Section 186 IPC (voluntarily obstructs any public servant in the discharge of his public functions), Section 353 (Assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) Section 332 (Voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), Section 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) Section 436 (Mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy house) Section 147 (Punishment for rioting) Section 148 (Rioting, armed with a deadly weapon) Section 149 (Every member of unlawful assembly guilty of the offence committed in prosecution of common object) and Section 427 (Mischief causing damage) of the Indian Penal Code(IPC) and under various provisions of Arms Act.
Sessions judge had pulled up Delhi Police
The Court of Additional Sessions Judge Gagandeep Singh in May 2022 held that prima facie the case reflected that the local staff of the Jahangirpuri police station, led by inspector Rajiv Ranjan as well as other officials, were accompanying the allegedly illegal procession on its route, instead of stopping it.
The police even admitted that the procession had no permission from the police.
The Sessions judge had observed that the riot was a result of the failure of police officials in preventing the riots and noted, “It reflects the utter failure on the part of local police in stopping the said procession having no permission. The issue seems to have been simply brushed aside by the senior officers. The liability on the part of the concerned officials needs to be fixed so that in future no such incident takes place and the police is not complacent in preventing the illegal activities.”
Clearly, the Delhi Police was openly called out by the Sessions Judge for not doing their job and instead accompanying the illegal procession that had no permission from the Police. To avoid any such lapse from their part, the north-west Delhi police has, this year, decided to act in the interest of law and order.
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