The charge sheet mentions as defendants, among others, the activist of Unidos Contra el Odio, Khalid Saifi; Former Congress Councilor Ishrat Jahan; Former AAP councilor Tahir Hussain; Meeran Haider of the RJD Youth Wing; Activists from Pinjda Tod Gulfisha Fatima, Safoora Zargar, Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita.
Six other defendants – Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Danés, Parvez, Ilyas and Faizal Khan – have been arrested in this case but are not mentioned on this charge sheet. The police will file supplemental charge sheets with the names of them and other persons who may be arrested. The defendants have been charged under a plethora of sections of the IPC and the Illicit Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
It took weeks of planning, the charge sheet says
Sections of the Indian Penal Code refer to criminal conspiracy (120B) read with murder, sedition, promotion of enmity between two groups, riots, dacoity and various others. The sections of the Law on Prevention of Damage to Public Property and the Law on Arms have also been invoked.
The charge sheet was filed in the additional sessions court of Judge Amitabh Rawat in the Karkardooma courts in the capital.
Delhi police have said on the charge sheet that the main conspirators were in direct contact with the men on the ground when the violence broke out on February 24. WhatsApp Groups dedicated to 20 sites were created where protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act were taking place. There was a systematic mobilization of the crowd to incite violence in the garb of protests against the CAA, ”police told the court.
Police have also concluded that the riots and protests were funded by various groups, including the PFI, and it took weeks of planning to store weapons, stones, guns, and ammunition such as Molotov cocktails on terraces to be used in the riots, indicating a premeditated conspiracy.
Delhi police said that during their investigation, they examined and listed 747 witnesses to support their case. Witnesses include “insiders” who have helped police understand how WhatsApp groups were used to coordinate protests. It was learned that these “insiders” registered their statements before a magistrate under article 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which is admissible as evidence. In their statements, witnesses have explained how these groups were created for the sole purpose of violence and riots.
A large part of the evidence is in electronic format, as data from 75 electronic devices seized from the defendants has been analyzed and attached to the charge sheet. The data extracted from the devices includes text messages and WhatsApp chats between individuals and groups.
“On the basis of scientific, documentary and testimonial evidence, 15 defendants have been formally charged out of the 21 people arrested so far. The remaining six people are expected to be prosecuted in due course after gathering sufficient evidence and completing the legal and procedural requirements, ”police said.
“The charge sheet presented today has 11 volumes, with a total of more than 17,000 pages. The honorable court has been asked to take cognizance of the crimes and initiate the trial of the accused, “added the police.
In a statement released after the submission of the charge sheet, Delhi Police said: “Claims for more than Rs 20 million have been filed to compensate for loss of property with the GNCTD, indicating the scale and immense cost of tragedy. ” The statement said that around 16,000 calls from PCR were received during the violence and that the police registered 751 cases. “Fifty-nine cases were assigned to an SIT constituted in the Crimes Section, 691 cases were investigated by the district police and one case that was registered on March 6, 2020 to investigate the largest conspiracy behind these riots was assigned to the Special Cell ”.
“In the course of investigating the 750 FIRs registered on specific crimes committed during the riots, 12 pistols, 121 empty cartridges, 92 active cartridges, 61 glass bottles filled with harmful chemicals and a variety of edged weapons were seized. cutting. away by the Delhi police, ”the statement said.
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