Women's group named in Delhi riots chargesheet demands action against 'real' culprits

Women activists under the banner 'Mahila Ekta Yatra' on Wednesday demanded that the ''real perpetrators'' of the northeast Delhi riots be brought to book.

Women activists under the banner 'Mahila Ekta Yatra' on Wednesday demanded that the ''real perpetrators'' of the northeast Delhi riots be brought to book. Last month, Delhi Police had filed a chargesheet before a city court under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and other relevant laws against 15 people for a "larger conspiracy" behind the communal violence that unfolded in northeast Delhi in February.

The chargesheet filed by the Delhi Police assigns blame for the communal violence to protestors, activists and students who were peacefully expressing their opposition to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the National Population Register (NPR).  The chargesheet, filed in September, also mentions the Mahila Ekta Yatra, a statement said. "We, the participants of the Mahila Ekta Yatra, demand that all steps be taken to ensure that real perpetrators of the Delhi violence are brought to book and the persecution of peaceful dissenters is immediately stopped," a statement issued by the group said.

Calling the allegations "completely false and fabricated", the activists from Mahila Ekta Yatra said "they are part of a persistent effort to suppress legitimate, peaceful expression of political opinion and opposition by criminalising it through perverse re-scripting of the truth and facts".  Delhi Police chief S N Shrivastava had last month said the force was serving its oath and the Constitution with conviction and integrity. He had asserted that the Delhi police's investigations in criminal cases are guided by facts and evidence, not by reputations and personalities. Responding to former IPS officer Julio Ribeiro's letter in which he had questioned the police's investigation in the Delhi riots, Shrivastava said there are several entities who have their reasons to weave a "web of deception" and push a "false narrative of bias and insensitivity" on the part of the police.