Updated: September 13, 2020 8:37:39 pm
He also questioned how “if a defendant (Gulfisha Fathima) mentions a name in her statement, that person will be named as a defendant on the charge sheet.” (Proceedings)
Congressional Leader P Chidambaram said on Sunday that Delhi police had driven the “criminal justice system to ridicule” by appointing CPI (M) Secretary General Sitaram Yechury, Swaraj Abhiyan leader Yogendra Yadav, and other academics in a supplemental charge sheet submitted citing “disclosure statements” in relation to the case of the riots in northeast Delhi.
“The Delhi police have ridiculed the criminal justice system by naming Mr. Sitaram Yechury and many other academics and activists on a supplemental charge sheet in the case of the Delhi riots,” Chidambaram said.
Then the former Finance Minister asked: “Has the Delhi police forgotten that between the fact sheet and charges there are important steps called Investigation and Corroboration”?
The Delhi Police have ridiculed the criminal justice system by naming Mr. Sitaram Yechury and many other academics and activists on a supplemental charge sheet in the Delhi Riots case.
– P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) September 13, 2020
The other people named in the disclosure statement include economist Jayati Ghosh, Professor Apoorvanand of the University of Delhi, and documentary filmmaker Rahul Roy.
The original charge sheet, filed in a Karkardooma court by the Crime Branch, was against members of Pinjra Tod Devangana Kalita and Natasha Narwal and Gulfisha Fathima of Jamia Millia Islamia in connection with the violence in Jafrabad, where it took place. an anti-CAA sit-in before the riots. it started. The three also face charges under the Unlawful Activity (Prevention) Act in a case brought by the Delhi Police Special Cell.
Yechury and Yadav, police said, were named in Gulfisha’s disclosure statement, indicating that they participated in anti-CAA demonstrations to “provoke and mobilize” crowds.
“If a defendant (Gulfisha Fathima) mentions a name in his statement, that person will be named as a defendant on the charge sheet,” Chidambaram questioned.
Have the Delhi police forgotten that between the information and the charge sheet there are important steps called Investigation and Corroboration?
– P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) September 13, 2020
Chidambaram said he was pleased that former police officer Julio Ribeiro had “berated” the Delhi police for their “biased handling” of the Delhi riots case. “Will the Delhi police listen to this iconic police officer?” He asked further.
Read | Retd IPS Officer Julio Ribeiro Questions Delhi Riots Investigation
Kalita and Narwal’s disclosure statements are nearly identical, starting with the mention of plotting a conspiracy in December when Ghosh, Apoorvanand and Roy allegedly “explained” to them that “we have to protest against CAA / NRC so we can go to any lengths. “; Umar Khalid’s “CAA / NRC Protest Tips”; and even a spelling mistake that mentions “massage” instead of message.
Narwal and Kalita declined to sign the disclosure statements, the charge sheet read.
The secretary general of Congress, KC Venugopal, also criticized the ruling BJP. “The BJP has reached new lows in its attempt to suppress peaceful dissent against its policies that have torn apart the socio-economic-political fabric of this nation,” he said. “The misuse of the Delhi police to drown out voices like Sitaram Yechury and others is shameful and highly reprehensible,” he said.
Another congressional leader, Jairam Ramesh, has said: “This is worse than appalling. I fully sympathize with the accused. They are more desh bhakts than the fraudulent ones who are in power now. “
Delhi Police Spokesman Anil Mittal in an official statement said: “It is worth mentioning that the disclosure statement has been truthfully taped as narrated by the accused person. A person is not prosecuted as a defendant solely on the basis of the disclosure statement. However, it is only on the existence of sufficient corroborating evidence that further legal action is taken. The matter is currently sub judice. “
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