2020 Delhi riots
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The 2020 Delhi riots, or North East Delhi riots, were multiple waves of bloodshed, property destruction, and rioting in North East Delhi, beginning on 23 February 2020 and caused chiefly by Hindu mobs attacking Muslims. Of the 53 people killed, two-thirds were Muslims who were shot, slashed with repeated blows, or set on fire. The dead also included a policeman, an intelligence officer and over a dozen
Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
, who were shot or assaulted. More than a week after the violence had ended, hundreds of wounded were languishing in inadequately staffed medical facilities and corpses were being found in open drains. By mid-March many Muslims had remained missing. Muslims were marked as targets for violence. In order to have their religion ascertained, Muslim males—who unlike Hindus are commonly
circumcised Circumcision is a procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin is excised. Topic ...
—were at times forced to remove their lower garments before being brutalised. Among the injuries recorded in one hospital were lacerated genitals. The properties destroyed were disproportionately Muslim-owned and included four
mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...
s, which were set ablaze by rioters. By the end of February, many Muslims had left these neighbourhoods. Even in areas of Delhi untouched by the violence, some Muslims had left for their ancestral villages, fearful for their personal safety in India's capital. The riots had their origin in Jaffrabad, in North East Delhi, where a sit-in by women against India's
Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 was passed by the Parliament of India on 11 December 2019. It amended the Citizenship Act, 1955 by providing a pathway to Indian citizenship for persecuted religious minorities from Afghanistan, Banglade ...
had been in progress on a stretch of the SeelampurJaffrabadMaujpur road, blocking it. On 23 February 2020, a leader of the ruling Hindu nationalist
Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the List of ruling p ...
(BJP),
Kapil Mishra Kapil Mishra (born 13 November 1980) is an Indian politician from Delhi. Before joining the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2019, Mishra was an Aam Aadmi Party MLA representing Karawal Nagar (Delhi Assembly constituency) in the Sixth Legislative As ...
, called for Delhi Police to clear the roads, failing which he threatened to "hit the streets". After Mishra's ultimatum, violence erupted. Initially, Hindu and Muslim attacks were equally lethal. Most deaths were attributed to gunfire. By 25 February 2020, the balance had shifted. Rioters wearing helmets and carrying sticks, stones, swords or pistols, and the saffron flags of Hindu nationalism entered Muslim neighbourhoods, as the police stood by. Chants were heard of "
Jai Shri Ram ''Jai Shri Ram'' (IAST: ) is an expression in Indic languages, translating as "Glory to Lord Rama" or "Victory to Lord Rama". The proclamation has been used by Hindus as an informal greeting, as a symbol of adhering to Hindu faith, or for proj ...
" ("Victory to Lord Rama"), a religious slogan favored by prime minister
Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...
's party. In the neighbourhood of Shiv Vihar, groups of violent Hindu men attacked Muslim houses and businesses for three days, often firebombing them with cooking gas cylinders and gutting them without resistance from the police. In some instances, Muslims countered perceived threats by returning the violence; on the 25th a Muslim mob approached a Hindu neighbourhood throwing stones and
Molotov cocktails A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – ''see other names'') is a hand thrown incendiary weapon constructed from a frangible container filled with flammable substances equipped with a fuse (typically a glass bottle filled with flamma ...
and firing guns. During this time, stories were also told of Sikhs and Hindus coming to the aid of besieged Muslims; in some neighbourhoods, the religious communities cooperated in protecting themselves from violence. The Indian government swiftly characterised the violence as spontaneous. The Delhi Police, which is directly overseen by India's
central government A central government is the government that is a controlling power over a unitary state. Another distinct but sovereign political entity is a federal government, which may have distinct powers at various levels of government, authorized or del ...
, moved into the area in strength on 26 February after the
Delhi High Court The High Court of Delhi (IAST: ''dillī uchcha nyāyālaya'') was established on 31 October 1966, through the ''Delhi High Court Act, 1966'', with four judges, Chief Justice K. S. Hegde, Justice I. D. Dua, Justice H. R. Khanna and Justice S. ...
had ordered it to help remove injured victims to hospitals. India's
national security advisor A national security advisor serves as the chief advisor to a national government on matters of security. The advisor is not usually a member of the government's cabinet but is usually a member of various military or security councils. National sec ...
, Ajit Doval, visited the area; the prime minister, Narendra Modi, made an appeal for peace on Twitter. The Delhi police were accused by the affected citizens, eyewitnesses, human rights organizations and Muslim leaders around the world of falling short in protecting Muslims. Videos showed police acting in a coordinated manner against Muslims, on occasion purposefully helping Hindu gangs. Witnesses said some police officers joined the attacks on Muslims. After the violence had abated in the thickly-settled mixed Hindu-Muslim neighbourhoods of North East Delhi, some Hindu organisations continued to parade alleged Hindu victims of Muslim violence in an attempt to reshape the accounting of events and to further inflame hostility towards Muslims. About 1,000 Muslims sought shelter in a relief camp on the fringes of Delhi. Gangs of Hindus appeared in several Muslim neighbourhoods in the days preceding the Hindu festival of
Holi Holi (), also known as the Festival of Colours, the Festival of Spring, and the Festival of Love,The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) p. 874 "Holi /'həʊli:/ noun a Hindu spring festival ...". is an ancient Hindu religious festival ...
, celebrated in 2020 on 9 March, to scare Muslims into abandoning their homes. In the midst of prevailing anti-Muslim attitudes, senior lawyers in Delhi were not accepting cases on behalf of the riot victims. Among Hindus and Muslims who continued to live in their neighbourhoods, the violence created potentially long-living divisions. For at least two weeks after the rioting, they avoided each other during the day and at night blocked their lanes with barriers.


Background

Protests began across India in December 2019 in response to the passage of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), which allows fast-tracked naturalisation for immigrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan belonging to six religions vis-à-vis Hinduism, Sikhism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, Jainism and Buddhism. The Act has been seen as discriminatory to Muslims and threatening to their existence in India when combined with the anticipated National Register of Citizens (NRC). Several anti-CAA protests were held in New Delhi. Some protesters burned vehicles and pelted stones at security forces. In
Shaheen Bagh Shaheen Bagh is a neighbourhood in the South Delhi district of Delhi, India. It is on the U.P border and southernmost colony of the Okhla (Jamia Nagar) area, situated along the banks of the Yamuna. The locality is known for being the site ...
, protesters blocked roads, which led to a traffic jam. The Delhi Legislative Assembly election was held on 8 February 2020, in which the
Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the List of ruling p ...
(BJP) was defeated by the
Aam Admi Party The Aam Aadmi Party (; AAP) is a political party in India, as one of the national political parties. The AAP was founded in November 2012 by Arvind Kejriwal and his then-companions following the 2011 Indian anti-corruption movement, popularl ...
; widespread usage of incendiary slogans by BJP equating the protesters to anti-national elements and asking for them to be shot were noted. Delhi BJP chief, Manoj Tiwari, has since attributed hate speeches by fellow party-candidate
Kapil Mishra Kapil Mishra (born 13 November 1980) is an Indian politician from Delhi. Before joining the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2019, Mishra was an Aam Aadmi Party MLA representing Karawal Nagar (Delhi Assembly constituency) in the Sixth Legislative As ...
(who coined the slogans) as a cause of the BJP defeat. On 22 February, around 500 to 1,000 protesters, including women, began a sit-in protest near the
Jaffrabad metro station The Jaffrabad metro station is located on the Pink Line of the Delhi Metro. As part of Phase III of Delhi Metro, Jaffrabad is the metro station of the Pink Line. It has two platforms. Station layout See also *List of Delhi Metro stati ...
. The protest blocked a stretch of SeelampurJaffrabadMaujpur road, as well as the entry and exit to the metro station. According to the protesters, the sit-in was in solidarity with the '' Bharat Bandh'' called by the Bhim Army, which was scheduled to begin on 23 February. Police and paramilitary personnel were deployed at the site.


Timeline


23 February and incitement

On 23 February between 3.30p.m. and 4p.m.,
Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the List of ruling p ...
(BJP) leader
Kapil Mishra Kapil Mishra (born 13 November 1980) is an Indian politician from Delhi. Before joining the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2019, Mishra was an Aam Aadmi Party MLA representing Karawal Nagar (Delhi Assembly constituency) in the Sixth Legislative As ...
and his supporters reached a protest site at Maujpur Chowk "to give an answer to Jaffrabad lockade. Mishra then spoke out in a rally against the CAA protesters and threatened to take matters into his own hands if the police failed to disperse the protesters from the Jaffrabad and Chand Bagh areas in three days' time. This has been widely reported to be the major inciting factor; however, Mishra rejects the allegations. At approximately 4p.m., protesters were reported to have hurled stones at the pro-CAA gathering at Maujpur Chowk and near a temple. Between 9 and 11p.m., clashes broke out between the anti-CAA and pro-CAA demonstrators in
Karawal Nagar Karawal Nagar is a census town in North East Delhi, India. India census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in conn ...
, Maujpur Chowk, Babarpur and Chand Bagh. Vehicles were gutted and shops were destroyed. The police used baton charge and tear gas to disperse the crowd. Seven hundred emergency calls were made to the police control room that day.


24 February

On the morning of 24 February, pro-CAA groups arrived at an anti-CAA protest site at Jaffrabad and refused to leave until the anti-CAA protesters left the area. At around 12:30p.m., protesters wearing masks and waving swords clashed with the police force. By afternoon, violent clashes broke out in several areas of North East Delhi, including in the Gokulpuri and Kardampuri areas. There was heavy stone pelting and vandalism of property. The police used tear gas and lathi charge against the protesters in the Chand Bagh area, but the protesters retaliated by throwing stones at the police. A head constable, Ratan Lal, died of a bullet injury in this clash. In Bhajanpura, in afternoon a group numbering around 2000 attacked a petrol pump, chanting slogans of () and carrying petrol bombs, sticks and weapons. They attacked the owner and employees of the petrol pump with sticks, burning vehicles and petrol tanks after looting available cash. Violence was also reported from the areas of Seelampur, Jaffrabad, Maujpur, Kardampuri, Babarpur, Gokulpuri and Shivpuri. Section 144 (ban on assembly) was imposed in all the affected areas but to little effect. In Jaffrabad, a man, allegedly linked with the anti-CAA side, opened fire at the police, before being arrested days later in Uttar Pradesh. In Shiv Vihar, in the afternoon, several shops and homes owned by Hindus were torched by a Muslim mob. Later, mutilated bodies of workers were recovered from the site. A massive parking lot with 170 cars was burned by a mob. In the evening around 8:30p.m., a tyre market (predominantly owned by Muslims) was set on fire with the screaming of "''Jai Shri Ram''" being heard. Later that night, at around 10:30p.m., a mob beat a Hindu man and his elder father travelling on a scooter with sticks, stones and swords while screaming "'' Allahu akbar''". The man died on the spot. On that day, five people died including a police constable and four civilians. 3,500 emergency calls were made to the police control room that day. The
Delhi Fire Service Delhi Fire Service (DFS) is the state-owned service that attends fire/rescue calls in the National Capital Territory of Delhi in India. The service consists of 61 fire stations and 3616 personnel (3280 firefighter A firefighter is a first r ...
stated that it had attended 45 calls from areas in northeast Delhi and three firemen were injured, on 24 February. While attending calls, a fire engine was attacked with stones, while another fire engine was set on fire by rioters.


25 February

On 25 February, stone pelting was reported from Maujpur, Brahampuri and other neighbouring areas. Rapid Action Force were deployed in the worst affected areas. It was a full-blown riot with intense religious sloganeering and violence from both sides. In Ashok Nagar, a mosque was vandalized and a
Hanuman Hanuman (; sa, हनुमान, ), also called Anjaneya (), is a Hindu god and a divine '' vanara'' companion of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and on ...
flag was placed on one of the minarets of the mosque. It was also reported that prayer mats of the mosque were burnt and torn pages from the
Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , ...
were strewn outside the mosque. A mob shouting the slogans () and () marched around the mosque before setting it on fire and looting adjacent shops and houses. According to local residents, the attackers did not belong to the area. After the first wave of violence by rioters, the police evacuated Muslim residents and took them to the police station. While the residents were away, a second mosque in Ashok Nagar and a third in Brijpuri were also torched along with a three-storey house and eight shops in the vicinity; the rioters could not be identified. Another mosque was vandalised in Gokulpuri. At 3p.m. in Durgapuri, Hindu and Muslim mobs clashed, pelting stones and shooting at each other. The rioters sported
tilaka In Dharmic culture, the ''tilaka'' ( sa, तिलक) () is a mark worn usually on the forehead, at the point of the Ajna chakra, or sometimes another part of the body such as the neck, hand, chest or arm. ''Tilaka'' may be worn daily or for ...
on their foreheads, and shouted religious slogans whilst shops and vehicles belonging to Muslims were exclusively torched. Police were not present initially in the area and arrived almost an hour later. At Gamri extension, a Hindu mob attacked a lane, and an 85-year-old woman was burnt to death when her house was set on fire. In Karawal Nagar, acid was thrown by protesters on the paramilitary personnel, who were deployed in the area to maintain law and order. A Muslim man was shot and burnt to death by a mob in Shiv Vihar, with cries of "Jai Shri Ram" being heard. People wielding sticks and iron rods were reported to be roaming streets in the areas of Bhajanpura, Chand Bagh and Karawal Nagar localities. By 9:30p.m., it was reported that 13 people died due to violence. Among the injured, more than 70 people suffered gunshot injuries. At 10p.m., shoot at sight orders were given to police in the riot-affected area. The dead body of a trainee driver in the Intelligence Bureau at Chanakyapuri, was found in a drain in Jaffrabad, a day after he went missing.Sources for trainee driver. * * * The circumstances leading to his death are under investigation, with a lot of confusion regarding them. According to a
post-mortem An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any d ...
report, he was repeatedly stabbed, leading to his death. Tahir Hussain, who was an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor, was arrested for allegedly murdering Sharma. 7,500 emergency calls were made to the police control room throughout the day, the highest in the week.


26 February

The National Security Advisor of India, Ajit Doval, visited violence-affected areas of North East Delhi in the evening. However, reports of violence, arson and mob lynching emerged from Karawal Nagar, Maujpur and Bhajanpura later that night. 1,500 emergency calls were made to the police control room that day. Complaints of delayed post-mortem reports were heard from several hospitals while witnesses and affected individuals who claimed to be civilians gave statements. Some of them blamed Kapil Mishra for the riots while one individual stated that a mob attacked them with stones and swords while chanting the Takbir.


27 to 29 February

;27 February In Shiv Vihar, between 7a.m. and 9a.m., clashes were reported. Three injured persons were reported, one of whom had bullet wounds. A godown, two shops, and a motorcycle were torched. ;28 February A 60-year-old rag picker, who had stepped out of home assuming the situation had normalized, was attacked and died on way to the hospital due to head injuries. ;29 February With no fresh cases of violence reported to the police on the day, the situation was said to be returning to normal with some shops reopening. Thirteen cases were registered against people posting provocative content on social media. In the Welcome area, one shop was set on fire.


Attacks on journalists

Several incidents of mobs attacking journalists were reported during the riots. A journalist of ''JK 24x7 News'' was shot by Anti-CAA protestors on 25 February while reporting in the Maujpur area. Two journalists of '' NDTV'' along with a cameraman were attacked by the mob while they were recording the torching of a mosque in the area. One of the journalists sustained severe injuries. A journalist involved in the same incident had to intervene and convince the mob that the journalists were Hindus to save them from further assault. On 25 February, a photojournalist for ''
The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest s ...
'' was heckled by the
Hindu Sena The Hindu Sena (; ), is an Indian right-wing organization, founded on 10 August 2011 by Vishnu Gupta, who is also its current leader. It has been described as a "fringe right-wing organization". The Sena organized a birthday party for Donal ...
members while taking pictures of a building that had been set on fire. The group tried to put a " tilak on his forehead" claiming that it will "make his job easier" as he could then be identified as a Hindu by the rioters. They questioned his intentions of taking pictures of the building on fire and further threatened to remove his pants to reveal that he is not
circumcised Circumcision is a procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin is excised. Topic ...
, as evidence of being a Hindu. The reporter was later approached by another rioter who demanded him to prove his religion. Several journalists shared their experience with rioters on
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
. A journalist of '' Times Now'' tweeted that she was attacked by pro-CAA and right-wing protesters. She said that she had to plead with the mob, who were carrying stones and sticks, to escape from the site. Journalists of ''
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was est ...
'', ''
India Today ''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' launched a new on ...
'', ''
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'' too stated that they were assaulted. The ''
Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia. It was founded by Sunder Singh Ly ...
'' reported that a motorcycle, which belonged to one of its photographers who was documenting the violence in
Karawal Nagar Karawal Nagar is a census town in North East Delhi, India. India census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in conn ...
, was set on fire by a masked mob. After torching the motorcycle, the mob threatened, assaulted him and seized the memory card in his camera. They asked for his official identity card and took a photograph of it before letting him leave. The Editors Guild of India issued a statement on 25 February expressing concern about the attacks on journalists as an assault on
freedom of the press in India Freedom of the press in India is legally protected by the Amendment to the constitution of India, while the sovereignty, national integrity, and moral principles are generally protected by the law of India to maintain a hybrid legal system f ...
. They urged the Home Ministry and the Delhi Police to investigate the incidents and bring the perpetrators to justice.


Interfaith solidarity

''
ThePrint The Print is an Indian online newspaper, owned by Printline Media Pvt Ltd. It was launched by journalist Shekhar Gupta in August 2017. History Printline Media Pvt. Ltd, founded by journalist Shekhar Gupta, was incorporated in New Delhi, I ...
'' journalists, who covered the incidents, reported that the people of the localities were confident that their neighbours did not engage in violence against them. Rather they blamed the "outsiders". The neighbourhood between Jaffrabad and Maujpur, which has a mixed population of Hindus and Muslims, demonstrated unity by guarding one another and barricading the gate to prevent outside mobs from entering and destroying the communal harmony that exists there. In the area of Mustafabad, Hindus and Muslims joined to keep guard to prevent miscreants to enter the area. Some Hindu families worked to protect their Muslim friends and neighbours amidst the riots by inviting them into their homes for a few days until the riots calmed down. A local Hindu rescued his Muslim friends from their burning house, suffering 70% burns while doing so. In the area of Chand Bagh, some Muslims visited their Hindu neighbours and assured their safety. At the Mandir Masjid Marg of Noor-e-Ilahi, Muslims gathered around Hanuman Mandir, the Hindu temple, to protect it from being damaged while Hindus did the same for Azizya Masjid, a mosque in the area. A Sikh father-son duo rescued around seventy Muslims from a mosque and a madrasa that were surrounded by a mob, by transporting them to safety on their motorcycle, giving safe passage to two children at a time. Amidst the rioting, the Sikh community allowed those seeking shelter into the gurudwara. Both Hindus and Muslims comforted one another and mourned the loss of their kin who were killed by the rioters. On 1 March, Muslim and Hindu residents of Jaffrabad organised a peace march together. Later that week,
Anil Joseph Thomas Couto Archbishop Anil Joseph Thomas Couto is the serving Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Delhi. Early life He was born on 22 September 1954 in Pomburpa, Goa, to Mr. Avito Piedade Jose Couto and Mrs. Ernestina Isabel Lobo e Couto. ...
, the Catholic Christian archbishop of the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Delhi The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Delhi ( la, Delhien(sis)) is a Latin Church Metropolitan archdiocese of the Catholic Church in northern India. Its cathedral archiepiscopal see is Sacred Heart Cathedral, New Delhi, Sacred Heart Cathedral, in t ...
appealed "for peace and non-violence" and clergy from the Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and Jain faiths gathered in front of the
Sacred Heart Cathedral, New Delhi The Cathedral of the Sacred Heart is a Roman Catholic cathedral belonging to the Latin Rite and one of the oldest church buildings in New Delhi, India. Together with St. Columba's School, and the Convent of Jesus and Mary school, it occupie ...
, to pray in solidarity.


Handling by emergency services


Delhi Police

The Delhi Police's ability to maintain the law and order and bring the peace back in riot-affected areas has been questioned by multiple sources. The police took no action even though present when the violence resulted in murders. They remained lax in deploying policemen on 23 February, when multiple intelligence reports requested more forces to prevent the tense situation (created by Mishra's speech) from escalating further. Victims of the riot reported that the police did not respond promptly when called, claiming that the officers were busy. Other reports also suggested that the police encouraged rioters and physically attacked residents of riot-affected areas, going on to shoot people randomly. The police, however, denied these assertions. A video shared on social media on 26 February showed a group of men being assaulted by the police as they lay on the ground, forcibly singing the
national anthem of India "" (Sanskrit: जन गण मन) is the national anthem of the Republic of India. It was originally composed as '' Bharoto Bhagyo Bidhata'' in Bengali by polymath Rabindranath Tagore. The first stanza of the song ''Bharoto Bhagyo Bidhata ...
and "
Vande Mataram ''Vande Mataram'' (Sanskrit: वन्दे मातरम् IAST: , also spelt ''Bande Mataram''; বন্দে মাতরম্, ''Bônde Mātôrôm''; ) is a poem written in sanskritised Bengali by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in th ...
" on the demands of the policemen. The families of the men claimed that they were detained in the lockup for two days and beaten further. One of them, Mohammad Faizan, was admitted in the neurosurgery wing of LNJP Hospital and died on 29 February from critical gunshot wounds. Another was reported to have suffered serious injuries. The lack of the police's prompt response may be attributed to the large police force deployed to line the roads for the visit of the
United States President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
. The police had reportedly informed the
Ministry of Home Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...
of the shortfall of policeman available for immediately controlling the violence, but this was denied by the Ministry. When the Delhi High Court bench, on 27 February, ordered the Delhi Police to file FIRs against the people whose speeches triggered the riots, the police and the government remarked that they had consciously not done so, citing that arresting them would not restore immediate peace. They further informed the court that they would need more time to investigate the matter. When a team of lawyers visited Jagatpuri police station to visit the anti-CAA protestors detained by the police, they were reportedly abused by police personnel. The lawyers then wrote to the Delhi commissioner of police, demanding action against the officer who assaulted them.


Delhi Health Services

The Jan Swasthya Abhiyaan (JSA), a public health advocacy group, compiled a report on the information gathered by their volunteers working in the hospitals during the riots. The report, titled ''The Role of Health Systems in Responding to Communal Violence in Delhi'' and released on 2 March, alleged that doctors had harassed the victims by referring to them as terrorists, and had asked victims if they knew the full forms of "NRC" and "CAA". The report documented instances of negligence, denying victims treatment in some cases, while disregarding the safety of patients in others. Multiple cases were reportedly rejected for not having the required medico-legal case documentation. It was also alleged that the doctors did not provide detailed reports of the injuries and autopsies to the victims and their families. The report indicated that citizens had grown fearful of government services such as ambulances and government hospitals, with victims taking private vehicles to go to private hospitals, due to the treatment and abuse that they had received from the police. This problem compounded the existing issues of the mobs not allowing ambulances near the riot-affected areas. In some areas, primary health centres and hospitals remained closed throughout the riots, either due to the violence or due to lack of medical facilities available at the grassroots level even before the riots began. Families of the victims also reported delayed post-mortem reports from several hospitals.


Response and reactions


Response by the government

On 24 February 2020, the
Ministry of Home Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...
stated that the violence appeared orchestrated to coincide with President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
's February 24–25, 2020 visit to India. The Ministry also refused to bring in the Army to control the riots and stated that the number of central forces and policemen on the ground was adequate. More than 6,000 police and paramilitary personnel were deployed in the area. On 25 February the
Chief Minister of Delhi The chief minister of the National Capital Territory of Delhi is the head of government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. According to the Constitution of India, the lieutenant governor is the National Capital Territory of Delhi's ' ...
,
Arvind Kejriwal Arvind Kejriwal (Hindi: ɾʋin̪d̪ ked͡ʒɾiːʋaːl born 16 August 1968) is an Indian politician, former bureaucrat, and activist who is the 7th and current Chief Minister of Delhi since February 2015. Currently, he is the national co ...
stated that the Delhi Police, despite its efforts, had been unable to control the violence and requested the
Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
's assistance in stopping the violence as the number of deaths climbed to 23.


Home Ministry's meeting

On the morning of 25 February 2020, the Chief Minister Kejriwal chaired an urgent meeting of all party MLAs from the violence-hit areas and senior officials. Several MLAs raised concerns on the lack of deployment of enough policemen. The concerns were raised by Kejriwal in the subsequent meeting chaired by Home Minister Shah and attended by Delhi Lieutenant-Governor
Anil Baijal Anil Baijal is a retired Central Government Civil Servant of the Indian Administrative Service cadre and served as the 21st Lieutenant Governor of Delhi. He took over office on 31 December 2016 after the sudden resignation of Najeeb Jung. He s ...
and senior police officials. The meeting concluded with the decision to take all possible steps to contain violence. Kejriwal stated that Shah had assured the availability of an adequate number of policemen. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval was given the responsibility of restoring peace in the region. On 26 February, Doval travelled to the violence-hit regions and spoke to locals, assuring them of normalcy.


Relief measures

On 27 February, Kejriwal announced free treatment for the injured in government as well as private hospitals under the Farishta scheme. The government had made arrangements with the help of NGOs to supply food in areas where a curfew had been imposed. He also announced a compensation amount of to affected people, ex-gratia, and in the case of a death of a minor. He also announced that the Delhi government had set up nine shelters for the people affected by the riots. For people whose houses were completely burnt, immediate assistance of was announced. Food and other relief materials were distributed with the help of
resident welfare association A resident welfare association (frequently abbreviated as RWA) is a Non-governmental organization that represents the interests of the residents of a specific urban or suburban locality, particularly in Indian cities. Membership Membership is ...
s and NGOs. BJP leaders Tajinder Bagga and Kapil Mishra collected for the Hindu victims of Delhi riots via crowdfunding.


Reactions

AAP leader Sanjay Singh released a video in which BJP MLA from Laxmi Nagar, Abhay Verma, was seen leading crowds that raised slogans () and (). Singh accused Home Minister Amit Shah of holding an "all-party meeting, pretending to restore peace and their MLA is engaged in inciting riots." Verma meanwhile defended himself claiming the slogans were raised by civilians.
Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...
president Sonia Gandhi held a press conference at which she said that Shah should resign for failing to stop the violence. She asked for the deployment of an adequate number of security forces. Gandhi's press conference was followed by a press conference by
Prakash Javadekar Prakash Keshav Javadekar (born 30 January 1951) is an Indian politician. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and served as the Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change from 30 May 2019 till 7 July 2021. Javadekar was ...
; he said that there is "selective silence" from AAP and Congress and he added that they are politicising violence. After three days of violence with 20 deaths, the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, shared a message on Twitter asking people to maintain peace. Commentators said that he reacted only after the departure of President Trump, whom he had been hosting on a state visit while the riots began. On 26 February, the
US Commission on International Religious Freedom The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is a U.S. federal government commission created by the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998. USCIRF Commissioners are appointed by the President and the lead ...
(USCIRF) conveyed "grave concern" over the riots and requested the Indian government to provide protection to people, no matter which faith they belonged to. US Senator and 2020 US presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and other American politicians expressed their concerns over the events. In response, on 27 February 2020, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson,
Raveesh Kumar Raveesh Kumar is an Indian diplomat in the Indian Foreign Service. Currently he is an Indian ambassador to Finland also accredited to Estonia, residing in Helsinki. He was the former official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA ...
, stated that these remarks were "factually inaccurate", "misleading" and "aimed at politicising the issue". BJP general secretary BL Santhosh threatened Sanders with election interference due to his condemnation. The US issued a travel advisory for its citizens to exercise caution. On 27 February, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, stated, "Indians in huge numbers, and from all communities, have expressed—in a mostly peaceful manner—their opposition to the Act, and support for the country's long tradition of
secularism Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on secular, naturalistic considerations. Secularism is most commonly defined as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state, and may be broadened to a si ...
". She expressed concern on the citizenship law and reports of "police inaction" during the communal attacks in Delhi. Twelve eminent citizens of
Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...
also expressed grave concern over the communal clashes on that day. They expressed fear that India's failure to handle the situation could create a volatile environment in its neighbouring countries, which could destroy peace, democracy, development and communal harmony in the region. The Governor of Meghalaya, Tathagata Roy, wanted lessons to be learned from
Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. Aft ...
's handling of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests for ways to handle the riots. Also on the same day,
Turkish president The president of Turkey, officially the president of the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Cumhurbaşkanı), is the head of state and head of government of Turkey. The president directs the executive branch of the national govern ...
Erdogan criticised the violence. He said, "India right now has become a country where massacres are widespread. What massacres? Massacres of Muslims. By who? Hindus." On 2 March, the Chief Minister of West Bengal,
Mamata Banerjee Mamata Banerjee (; born 5 January 1955) is an Indian politician who is serving as the eighth and current chief minister of the Indian state of West Bengal since 20 May 2011, the first woman to hold the office. Having served many times as a ...
, alleged that the Delhi riot was a "planned genocide". On 5 March, Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, asked the Indian Government to confront extremist Hindus and their parties and stop the massacre of Muslims of India, to prevent India from being isolated from the world of Islam.


Investigation

On 27 February 2020, the Delhi Police reported that two Special Investigation Teams (SIT) had been formed to investigate the violence. DCP Joy Tirkey and DCP Rajesh Deo were appointed head of these SITs respectively, along with four Assistant Commissioners in each team. Additional Commissioner of crime branch, B.K. Singh, was announced to be supervising the work of the SITs. On 28 February 2020, the police also called in forensic science teams, who visited the crime scenes to collect evidence. , police had registered 690 FIRs and around 2200 individuals involved in the violence were taken into custody. Some activists were charged with offences under the
Indian Penal code The Indian Penal Code (IPC) is the official criminal code of India. It is a comprehensive code intended to cover all substantive aspects of criminal law. The code was drafted on the recommendations of first law commission of India established ...
and the Arms Act. Their friends and relatives alleged that they were tortured in custody. During a parliamentary debate over the riots on 11 March, Home Minister Amit Shah stated that rioters who had come from
Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 195 ...
had been identified.


Supreme Court hearing

Bhim Army chief
Chandrashekhar Azad Ravan Chandra Shekhar Azad (born 3 December 1986) is an Indian lawyer and Dalit rights activist and an Ambedkarite who is the co-founder and national president of the Bhim Army. In February 2021, ''Time'' magazine featured him in its annual list ...
, along with former Chief Information Commissioner
Wajahat Habibullah Wajahat Habibullah (born 30 September 1945) was the chairperson of the National Commission for Minorities. Prior to this, he held the position of the first Chief Information Commissioner of India. He was an officer of the Indian Administrativ ...
and social activist Syed Bahadur Abbas Naqvi, filed an appeal in the Supreme Court requesting that the police be directed to file reports over cases of violence that had occurred since the night of 23 February. The petition also accused Mishra of "inciting and orchestrating the riots". During the hearing held on 26 February, the Supreme Court criticized the Delhi Police for not having done enough to stop the violence. However, the bench, consisting of Justices
Sanjay Kishan Kaul Sanjay Kishan Kaul is currently the Most senior judge of Supreme Court of India. He is former chief justice of Madras High Court and Punjab and Haryana High Court and former judge of Delhi High Court. He has also served as acting chief justice ...
and K. M. Joseph, did not entertain the plea, stating that the case was already in the
Delhi High Court The High Court of Delhi (IAST: ''dillī uchcha nyāyālaya'') was established on 31 October 1966, through the ''Delhi High Court Act, 1966'', with four judges, Chief Justice K. S. Hegde, Justice I. D. Dua, Justice H. R. Khanna and Justice S. ...
.


Delhi High Court hearing

Activists Harsh Mander and Farah Naqvi filed a plea in the Delhi High Court, demanding that the police report and arrest those involved in the violence on 25 February. The plea further demanded that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) be set up to investigate the incident and that compensation be provided to those killed and injured. It also requested for the immediate deployment of the
Indian Army The Indian Army is the Land warfare, land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Arm ...
in the affected areas.


Court hearing on 26 February

At midnight on 26 February, the court bench, consisting of Justices S. Muralidhar and Talwant Singh, heard the emergency plea, following which, the court ordered the police to safeguard and help all victims to reach their nearest hospitals. In the hearing during the morning, DCP of crime branch, Rajesh Deo, and the Solicitor General of India, Tushar Mehta, surprised the court by admitting that they had not watched the video of the inflammatory speech given by Kapil Mishra. However, Deo admitted to have watched the videos of
Anurag Thakur Anurag (Devanagari: अनुराग) (pronounced "Anurāg"), sometimes shorted Anu, is a common Indian first name. There are various meanings of Anurag in Sanskrit such as attachment, devotion, passion and eternal love. Notable people named Anu ...
and
Parvesh Verma Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma (born 7 November 1977) is an Indian politician and a Member of parliament (MP) from West Delhi Lok Sabha constituency. As a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), he is serving his second term as an MP for West ...
. The Court then played the video clip of Kapil Mishra's speech. The bench expressed "anguish" over the inability of the Delhi Police to control the riots and its failure to file FIRs against four BJP leaders, Kapil Mishra, Anurag Thakur, Parvesh Verma and Abhay Verma for their hate speeches. The bench also noted that incidents like the
1984 anti-Sikh riots The 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots, also known as the 1984 Sikh Massacre, was a series of organised pogroms against Sikhs in India following the assassination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards. Government estimates project that about 2,800 Sikhs ...
must be prevented from ever occurring again in Delhi.


Transfer of Justice Muralidhar

Late on the night of 26 February, Justice S. Muralidhar, who had presided over the plea hearing, was transferred to the Punjab and Haryana High Court. This was the same day on which he had condemned the Delhi Police for its failure in controlling the riots or filing cases against BJP leaders for hate speech. However, the Law Minister
Ravi Shankar Prasad Ravi Shankar Prasad (born 30 August 1954) is an Indian politician and lawyer, from the Bharatiya Janata Party. A Member of Parliament since 2000, first in the Rajya Sabha (2000-2019) and then in the Lok Sabha (since 2019), Prasad has served as ...
stated that this was a routine transfer which had been recommended by the Supreme Court a fortnight before. ''
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadc ...
'' reported that Muralidhar's "biting comments could have hastened his transfer". The news of his removal from the case was criticised by many Indians who expressed concern. The Congress party called his transfer a move to protect the accused BJP leaders. The Delhi High Court Bar Association criticised the transfer and asked the Supreme Court collegium to revoke it.


Court hearing under new bench

On 27 February, the court resumed the hearing with a new bench consisting of Chief Justice D.N. Patel and Justice C. Hari Shankar. During the previous hearing, the Delhi police were given 24 hours to decide on the filing of FIRs over hate speeches by four BJP leaders. The government's lawyer claimed that the situation was not "conducive" and that the government needed more time before it could take appropriate action. The new bench accepted the same arguments that the previous bench had rejected and agreed to give the government more time to decide on filing of the cases for hate speech. The petitioners' lawyer requested an earlier hearing, citing the increasing number of deaths, but the court set 13 April as the date of the next hearing. On 28 February, the court issued notices to the local and central governments seeking their responses on registering FIRs on Congress party leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi on the charges of delivering hate speeches. Hearing another plea, the bench also issued notice to the Delhi police and the central government for their response on registering FIR on AAP MLA
Amanatullah Khan Amanatullah Khan is an Indian politician and is member of the Delhi Legislative Assembly. He is a member of the Aam Aadmi Party and represents Okhla (Assembly constituency) of Delhi in the Sixth Legislative Assembly of Delhi. Khan is the ele ...
, actress Swara Bhaskar, activist Harsh Mander and on
AIMIM The All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen ( en, All India Council for Unity of Muslims) ( AIMIM) is an Indian political party based primarily in the city of Hyderabad. It is also a significant political party in the Indian States of Telangana ...
leaders like
Akbaruddin Owaisi Akbaruddin Owaisi (born 14 June 1970) is an Indian politician and leader of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) party in Telangana. Since 2014, he has been MLA of the Chandrayangutta constituency in the Telangana Legislative Assem ...
, Asaduddin Owaisi, and Waris Pathan. The court later posted the matter to be heard again on 13 April. AAP leader Tahir Hussain was denied bail. The court said there's enough material on record to presume the former councillor was present at the spot of crime and was instigating the rioters. In September 2021, a Delhi High Court Justice, Subramonium Prasad, noted that the riots were a "preplanned and pre-meditated conspiracy to disturb law and order in the city" and that the rioters' conduct "was a calculated attempt to dislocate the functioning of the government as well as to disrupt the normal life of the people in the city."


Aftermath

In the aftermath of the riots, many Muslims who had been living in the riot-affected neighbourhoods left with all their belongings. Even in areas of Delhi which were not affected by the violence, many Muslim families packed up their belongings and left for their ancestral villages, showing no intention of ever coming back. According to complaints received by lawyers representing Muslim victims of the riots, the police had threatened to falsely implicate the victims in police cases if they filed any complaints against the rioters. As of October 2020, many Muslim survivors of the riots reported harassment and humiliation within their immediate neighbourhoods and many even started selling their properties below the market price so as escape from this ordeal. According to Zafarul Islam Khan, former chairman of the Delhi Minorities Commission, 1,300 Muslim youth have been arrested since the riots began and pressure has been constantly mounted on the Delhi police to create a fabricated narrative that these youths started the riots. The Special Commissioner of Police (Crime) had written in an order dated 8 July to senior officers heading probe teams and asked them to “suitably” guide the Investigating Officers to note that the arrests of “some Hindu youth” from riot-hit areas in Northeast Delhi has led to a “degree of resentment among the Hindu community” and “due care and precaution” must be taken while making such arrests. This was despite the fact that the Delhi Police Crime Branch investigations into the murder of nine Muslims at and around Bhagirathi Vihar in North-East Delhi on 25 and 26 February had led to a WhatsApp group named "Kattar Hindu Ekta", which was created to mobilise rioters. The investigators had filed three chargesheets in connection with three of the murder cases and nine people were chargesheeted. According to Hisham ul wahab, "it has been a pattern in almost all the anti-Muslim violence in India that to call it “communal riots” in order to avoid the supposed blame over the perpetrators from the Hindu fold as well as to narrate it in a balanced/neutral way as both the communities involved in it are occupying equal and parallel power. However, an assessment of such a narrative with the help of various reports including the Sachar Committee report would be sufficient to explore the historical disparity and discrimination against the Muslim community in terms of socio-political-economic and educational parameters". For those left homeless or who had run away from their homes out of fear, temporary relief camps were set up in houses, temples, madrasas and the Al-Hind Hospital. Camps housing larger numbers were erected in areas like Idgah, the Mustafabad prayer ground. The Idgah camp was the largest among nine others and was funded by the government. However, it soon grew crowded. Volunteers helped victims by distributing carts to vendors and providing others with legal aid or even simple help in filling forms. Doctors volunteered to provide medical attention to people suffering from injuries. Most of the refugees were reported to suffer from skin rashes and the common cold. Many others, including the children, were reported to be suffering from anxiety and mental trauma. They reported to have lost their homes and their livelihoods and were awaiting government help to rebuild their lives. In another camp in Khajuri Khas, a team of paralegals ran a relief assistance booth of the government. These victims then faced the threat of coronavirus, with social distancing being impossible given the number of people crowded in these camps. Following this, the Delhi government forcefully evicted the residents of the Idgah camp by 30 March, leaving many homeless. The victims were promised rations and a sum of to rent rooms for themselves, but not all were able to avail of these relief measures. Archbishop Couto of Delhi stated that churches were using their resources to help those affected by the 2020 Delhi riots; the Holy Family Hospital, for example, engaged physicians, nurses, as well as ambulances to provide relief to affected people. He further stated that Catholic churches would accept those affected by the riots, especially with it being the season of
Lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Jesus, temptation by Satan, according ...
. Hindus and businesses run by them in the riot-affected areas began boycotting traders and refused to hire workers who were Muslims. They alleged that the Muslims had started the riots and had then blamed the Hindus for the violence. As a result of the growing distrust between the two communities in these areas, the Hindus and Muslims would avoid each other during the day and block the lanes to their respective neighbourhoods with barriers at night. Neighbourhoods of both communities put up metal gates to slow down the passage of rioters in the future, with some keeping themselves permanently armed with wooden ''lathis'' (batons). Hindu politicians paraded injured victims with bandages wrapped around their heads in multiple "peace marches", alleging that they were victims of violence at the hands of Muslims. This incited more hatred towards Muslims. One such rally held on 29 February was organised by the Delhi Peace Forum, an NGO backed by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, with people holding placards that said, "Delhi against jihadi violence". Kapil Mishra was seen at the rally, while inflammatory slogans inciting people to "shoot the traitors" were heard. Gangs of Hindus later appeared in multiple neighbourhoods and threatened the Muslims living there to abandon their homes before the Hindu festival of Holi, which was celebrated on 9 March 2020.
Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...
news channels
Asianet News Asianet News (formerly Asianet Global) is an Indian free-to-air Malayalam-language news channel owned by Asianet News Network. Asianet News Network operates as a subsidiary of Jupiter Entertainment Ventures (Jupiter Capital Ventures). The chan ...
and
MediaOne TV MediaOne TV is an Indian Malayalam-language television channel operated by Madhyamam Broadcasting Limited. The channel was licensed in September 2011 and was officially launched on 10 February 2013. The main studio is located at Velliparamba, ...
were banned by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for 48 hours on 6 March for broadcasting about the Delhi riots and the lack of action taken by the police. However, the ban was soon reversed by I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar, following multiple complaints. During a parliamentary debate over the riots on 11 March, Home Minister Amit Shah gave his condolences to the families of those who died due to the violence and assured them of justice. He went on to commend the Delhi Police for their efforts and blamed Muslim leaders and members of the Congress party for instigating the riots. Another BJP MP, Meenakshi Lekhi, accused
ISIS Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kin ...
elements of having organised the riots. Members of the opposition like Kapil Sibal,
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury (born 2 April 1956) is an Indian politician serving as the leader of the Indian National Congress in the 17th Lok Sabha and the Member of Parliament from Berhampore. He is also the current president of West Bengal Prade ...
and Asaduddin Owaisi criticised the government for its lack of timely action. In response to an RTI application on 13 April, the Delhi Police stated that 23 people had died and 48 people had been arrested in connection with the riots. This was in stark contrast to the report of 52 deaths and 3,304 arrests submitted by Junior Home Minister G. Kishan Reddy on 18 March, who had obtained the figures from the Delhi Police.


Fact Finding Reports of the Violence

Various Fact Finding reports have been released about the Delhi Violence 2020. * Delhi Minority Commission, “Report of the DMC fact-finding Committee on North-East Delhi Riots of February 2020”, 27 June 2020, New Delhi. * Group of Intellectuals and Academicians (GIA), “Delhi Riots 2020: Report from Ground Zero – The Shaheen Bagh Model in North East Delhi: From Dharna to Danga”, New Delhi. * Human Rights Watch (HRW), “Shoot the Traitors’: Discrimination Against Muslims under India's New Citizenship Policy”, April 2020, United States of America. * Youth for Human Rights Documentation (YHRD), “An Account of Fear & Impunity: Preliminary Fact-Finding Report on Communally-Targeted Violence in North-East Delhi, February 2020”, New Delhi. * Sharma, Nupur J and Kalpojyoti Kashyap. (2020), Delhi Anti-Hindu Riots of 2020: The Macabre Dance of Violence Since December 2019, New Delhi: OpIndia. * Amnesty International India, “India: Six Months Since Delhi Riots, Delhi Police Continue To Enjoy Impunity Despite Evidence Of Human Rights Violations”, 28 August 2020, New Delhi. * In October 2022, a fact-finding committee found that the Union home ministry delayed the deployment of additional forces in the violence-hit areas. The committee headed by a former Supreme Court judge Madan B. Lokur concluded that the communal riots continued unabated between February 23 and 26, 2020.


Books on the riots

In August 2020, a book titled '' Delhi Riots 2020: The Untold Story'' by advocate Monika Arora and academics Sonali Chitalkar and Prerna Malhotra was scheduled to be published by Bloomsbury India, which however withdrew the book after facing criticism from other writers and activists. The new publishers ''Garuda Prakashan'' said that by 24 August, they had received 15,000 pre-orders.


See also

* Violence against Muslims in India * Religious violence in India *


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Delhi riots 2020s in Delhi 2020 in Islam 2020 murders in India 2020 riots Anti-Muslim violence in India Arson in the 2020s Attacks on buildings and structures in 2020 Attacks on religious buildings and structures in India Citizenship Amendment Act protests Crime in Delhi February 2020 crimes in Asia February 2020 events in India Hinduism in Delhi Mass murder in 2020 Massacres in India Religious riots Delhi riots Delhi riots Delhi riots Delhi riots Delhi riots