NEW DELHI: A Delhi court, while denying bail to eight accused in the Jahangirpuri communal clash, blasted Delhi Police for escorting an “illegal” Hanuman Jayanti procession instead of stopping it last month and noted that the complicity of local police, if any, needed to be investigated.
“It appears that the local police, instead of performing their duty in stopping the said illegal procession in the beginning itself and dispersing the crowd, was accompanying them on the entire route which later on led to unfortunate riots between the two communities,” said Additional Sessions Judge at Rohini Court, Gagandeep Singh.
The sequence of events, as described by the police themselves in the FIR, showed that the last 6 p.m. procession did not have the required permission even though the previous two had, the judge said. “If that was the situation, then the contents of the FIR itself show that the local staff of the Jahangirpuri police station, led by inspector Rajiv Ranjan as well as other officials from DCP reserve were accompanying the said illegal procession on its route instead of stopping it.”
The court noted that this prima facie reflected utter failure on part of local police and the issue seemed to have been simply brushed aside by the senior officers of the department. The liability on part of the officials concerned needed to be fixed so that no such incident takes place in future and the police are not complacent in preventing the illegal activities, the court said.
The judge also directed a copy of the order be sent to the Delhi Police Commissioner to take measures for compliance. Clashes broke out between Hindus and Muslims in Northwest Delhi’s Jahangirpuri area on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti on April 16, leaving eight police personnel and a local injured.
During the arguments in court, Chief Public Prosecutor Maqsood Ahmed submitted that the last procession had no prior permission from the police and when it was passing through, the clash between the two communities took place.