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, Aranya Shankar
| New Delhi |
Updated: May 25, 2020 12:08:08 pm
The two activists, Natasha Narwal (32) and Devangana Kalita (30) students from the JNU and were arrested in their homes, a Pinjra Tod member said.
A day after a team from the Northeast Delhi’s Jafrabad police station arrested two members of Pinjra Tod, one of the women of the student organization, in connection with their alleged role in the fight against the CAA Jafrabad sit-in protest in February of this year, a Delhi court granted them bail, saying that the IPC Section 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) invoked against them was “not sustainable”, and that they were “just protesting against the NRC and CAA”.
Read| Delhi Police arrest two women Pinjra Tod during February protest
The truce, however, was short-lived as a Special Investigation Team of the Crime Branch were arrested on charges of murder, attempt to murder, rioting and criminal conspiracy, and asked police custody for 14 days. The court finally remanded in two days police custody.
The police claim that the two women, Devangana Kalita (30) and Natasha Narwal (32), were some of those who organized an anti-CAA of protest and road blockade under Jafrabad Metro station, February 22-23. The protest caused a pro-CAA rally by BJP’s Kapil Mishra and his supporters on the 23 of February. A day after, riots erupted in the district.
Read | NE Delhi riots: the Lack of evidence, 20 being released on bail
The women are facing three probes by the Special Cell, the Jafrabad police station and the Crime Branch SIT. Saturday,Narwal was being questioned by officers of the Special Cell when the officers of the Jafrabad station arrested from his residence.
The team of Jafrabad police station and arrested under IPC sections 186 (obstructing a public official in the exercise of public functions) and 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty).
However, the granting of bail on the Sunday, the Duty of the Magistrate Ajeet Narayan stated that “from the reading of the FIR and file a case, prima facie, the offence under section 353 is not sustainable”.
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“The facts of the case reveal that the accused were only protesting against the NRC and the CAA and the defendant does not enjoy any kind of violence. In addition, the defendant has strong roots in the society and are well educated. Defendant we are willing to cooperate with the police on the investigation,” the established order.
“In addition, taking into account the situation in which the defendants are vulnerable to the current pandemic of Covid-19, this court is not willing to give PC remand of the accused and of the application of the preventive police refused,” he added.
In the meantime, the Crime Branch investigation officer (IO) Kuldeep Singh moved an application before the court, seeking to interrogate the two women.
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The Duty of the Magistrate noted in his order: “Both the accused are arrested in case FIR No. 48/20 PS Jafrabad by IO Ram Meher Singh, SHO PS Jafrabad. Both the accused has (sic) revealed its participation in the present case also. They are also named in the disclosure statement of co-accused arrested in this case. Applicant is allowed, and is granted permission to interrogate the accused for 15 minutes and also formal arrest of the accused, if it is necessary.”
After 15 minutes, IO Kuldeep Singh “, produced both of the accused after the arrest”. “PC application to preventive detention for 14 days has been moved by the Inspector Kuldeep Singh. IO has submitted that the accused has to be thoroughly interrogated at length to know the conspiracy behind the incident and the identity of the co-accused has to be established and PC remand is necessary to detain the co-defendants,” the Duty of the Magistrate noted.
Adit S Pujari, Tusharika Mattoo and Kunal Negi, counsel for the accused, opposed the police application, saying Kalita and Narwal have been implicated in the case malafidely.
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“Taking into account the facts and circumstances of the case, and the initial stage of the investigation, both the accused sent to two days police custody,” the Duty of the Magistrate said.
While Kalita is an MPhil student at JNU’s Centre for the Study of Women, Narwal is a Phd student in the Centre for Historical Studies. Both are founding members of Pinjra Tod, formed in the year 2015, mainly in opposition to the hostel curfews in Delhi, colleges and universities. Kalita and Narwal have done graduation from DU in the House of Miranda and the Hindu College, respectively.
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In a statement, the JNU Teachers Association, said, “The strong mismatch between the model of the detention by the Delhi Police and the violence, as recorded by several independent determination of the facts of the teams, and the consistent refusal of the police to take any substantive action against those who had been captured by TV cameras spitting hatred and urging violence before the riots, points clearly to the fact that the Delhi Police is carrying out a witch hunt of those whose only crime was to be part of a democratic opposition to something that they consider to be anti-Constitutional.”
The JNU Students ‘ Union, said in a statement: “The Delhi Police has never shown the same alacrity in the arrest of Kapil Mishra or nature in connection with the violence… with the arrest of two activists now… the police is now clearly demonstrating that courtesies basic and the rule of law have been replaced by brute force.”
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