In Delhi violence investigation, a disturbing pattern: Victims end up being prosecuted by police – By Vijayta Lalwani

On February 24, communal violence engulfed North East Delhi, leaving at least 53 people dead over the next three days, most of whom were Muslim. Exactly a month later, India went under a nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus. Normal life came to a halt – but not Delhi Police’s investigation into the violence.

By April 13, the police had made more than 800 arrests, the Indian Express reported. An unidentified official was quoted in the report saying that the Union Home Ministry “insisted that police must continue making arrests under any circumstances”.… Based on an analysis of around 40 FIRs, it accused the police of displaying communal bias against Muslims, by diluting charges against Hindu accused. “It is imperative, for the sake of justice that all FIRs pertaining to the riots be opened to public scrutiny,” the activists said.

“The maximum loss of life and the loss of property was of this minority community, as has happened in virtually every major episode of communal violence after Partition, barring very few exceptions,” he said. Three months after the worst violence in India’s capital in three decades, information about the police investigation remains limited, making it difficult to draw any definitive conclusions. But Scroll.in examined a few cases closely to find a troubling pattern: often victims of the violence were being prosecuted by the police.