NEW DELHI: Some of the rioters used a WhatsApp group to coordinate with each other during north-east Delhi riots in February and killed nine Muslims after they refused to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’, Delhi police has alleged in its charge sheets filed in a court.
The accused were part of a WhatsApp group — Kattar Hindut Ekta — that was created on February 25 to take ‘revenge’ on Muslims, the charge sheets said, adding that they used it to coordinate with each other and provide, men, arms and ammunition to each other.
The creator of the WhatsApp group is still absconding, police said in the charge sheets. “Kattar Hindut Ekta group was created on February 25 at 12.49 Hrs. Initially there were 125 members in this group, out of which 47 had exited the group by March 8,” it said.
The charge sheets were filed before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vinod Kumar Gautam on June 29 for the alleged bludgeoning of nine people — Hamza, Aamin, Bhure Ali, Mursalin, Aas Mohd, Musharraf, Akil Ahmed, and Hashim Ali and his elder brother Aamir Khan — to death.
“During the investigation, it has been established that a group of Hindus comprising of accused persons — Jatin Sharma, Rishabh Chaudhary, Vivek Panchal, Lokesh Solanki, Pankaj Sharma, Prince, Sumit Chaudhary, Ankit Chaudhary and Himanshu Thakur, along with other identified and unidentified rioters — became active in Ganga Vihar/ Bhagirathi Vihar area since the morning of February 25 to 26 midnight and bludgeoned nine Muslim persons to death and injured several persons in Bhagirathi Vihar and other area,” police said in the charge sheet.
“Their modus operandi was, they used to catch the people and ascertain their religion by asking name, address and by their document i.e. Identity Card and they were forcing them to call ‘Jai Shri Ram’ many times.’‘The person who was not calling ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and carrying the identity of Muslim identity, they were bluntly attacked and thrown into the Main Ganda Nala (dirty drain), Bhagirathi Vihar, Delhi,’ it said.’
The court has put up the matter for consideration on July 13.