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February violence in Delhi drove thousands from their homes, most of them members of the Muslim minority, which represents about 15 percent of the country’s roughly 1.3 billion people. [File: Altaf Qadri/AP]
Indian police have charged 15 people for the Hindu-Muslim riots in the capital, a spokesman said on Thursday, prompting criticism from human rights groups that the authorities targeted the opposition and Muslim minorities.
The February violence killed more than 50 people and drove thousands from their homes, most of them members of the Muslim minority, which makes up about 15 percent of the country’s roughly 1.3 billion people.
The riots followed months of protests against a new citizenship law that critics say discriminates against Muslims. The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), passed last December, accelerates the nationality of minorities from three neighboring countries, but excludes Muslims.
The charges were brought in court in eastern New Delhi, said police spokesman Anil Mittal, adding that the evidence against the defendant is more than 17,000 pages long.
Mittal did not identify the defendants, but the national media have named former members of two opposition parties and academics at one of the main protest sites, the Muslim-dominated Jamia Millia Islamia University.
Arbitrary arrests
“By arbitrarily arresting activists who speak out, the government is not only trying to silence dissent, it is also sending a message to supporters that they have free rein to commit abuses against minority communities,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, Rights Director. Humans from South Asia from New York. Clock.
Why is India’s Citizenship Law causing so much anger? Start here
Prashant Bhushan, a lawyer for the Supreme Court and a critic of the government, said the charge sheet was “a sham”.
The NDTV broadcaster called the investigation a “cover up”, adding that several members of the ruling Hindu nationalist party Bharatiya Janata made inflammatory speeches hours before the February riots, but had escaped censorship.
Amnesty International India, in its report published last month, accused the Delhi police of “complicity and bias” in the February violence.
The Delhi government and police have defended their handling of the case, saying that those involved in the riots will be punished regardless of their political or religious ties.
This latest measure follows the arrest of a former student leader who was detained Sunday for his alleged role in the February violence, a move denounced by activists as “a witch-hunting exercise.”
Umar Khalid, 33, was arrested under the strict Illegal Activity (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in connection with the riots.
Legal experts have questioned the application of the UAPA by the police to students and activists, as the law reduces the scope of bail, that is, jail time without trial.
