NewsThe Karkardooma District Court in East Delhi Sunday stated that the investigation standard for the northeast Delhi communal riots in February 2020 was “very poor.” The riots followed violent protests in the country against the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 (CAA).
Judge Vinod Yadav made this statement during a hearing for Ashraf Ali, who was accused of participating in a violent mob that attacked paramilitary members with “glass bottles, acids and bricks.” Judge Yadav noted that many investigating officers have failed to participate in their court hearings for their investigations, saying:
It is really painful to note here that a large number of cases of riots have been pending consideration on charge before this Court and in majority of cases the [investigating officers] have not been appearing in Court, either physically or through video-conferencing at the time of consideration on charge.
He also stated that the investigating officers have failed to provide sufficient information to the public prosecutors, who have been forced to argue the cases as they are presented to them rather than having “an opportunity to go deep into the facts.”
At the end of his opinion, Judge Yadav directed that a copy of the report be sent to the Commissioner of Delhi Police, “directing taking of remedial steps” to resolve the current issues in the riot investigations.
