Five years later: Delhi Police’s riots conspiracy case is built on sand

Five years ago, the Indian capital saw intense riots in the wake of protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. Of the 53 people killed, more than two-thirds were Muslim. As part of this special series, Delhi 2020, Scroll looks back at the violence and how the Modi government used it to tar the very idea of peaceful protest.

Were the Delhi riots of 2020 incited by an assortment of students, activists and local politicians as part of a premeditated plot to destabilise the city?

That is what the Delhi Police has claimed. It has told the courts that its investigation into the riots has thrown up evidence of a sprawling “larger conspiracy” case, which it has presented in five voluminous chargesheets.

An examination of the five chargesheets spanning over 30,000 pages and interviews with eight defence lawyers reveal a troubling picture. Gaps in evidence have been filled with questionable witness statements, protests been criminalised and individuals implicated on the basis of tenuous evidence.

The communal riots erupted in North East Delhi on February 24, 2020, the result of clashes between the supporters of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and those opposing it. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act provided a way for undocumented migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan to gain Indian citizenship – as...

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