Northeast Delhi violence: HC directs police to respond by 12:30 pm on plea
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court directed police to respond by 12:30 pm on Wednesday to a plea seeking lodging of FIRs and arrests of those involved in the ongoing communal violence in parts of northeast Delhi over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
A bench of Justices S Muralidhar and Talwant Singh said a senior-level police officer, who is aware of the facts, should be present before it at 12:30 pm with instructions.
The bench said it does not require the presence of all the police officers as they are required to be at the spot of violence.
The court said police does not need its direction to take action in relation to the violence and police should take suo motu action as "this is very important".
The matter was mentioned for urgent hearing before Justice Muralidhar's bench by senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for human rights activist Harsh Mander, as the bench headed by Chief Justice D N Patel before whom the matter was listed will not be holding court on Wednesday.
The court told central government's standing counsel Amit Mahajan representing Delhi Police Commissioner that since they were served with an advanced copy of the petition they should come with instructions during the day.
It also issued notices to the Delhi government, Delhi Police Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner of Police of northeast Delhi.
The petition filed by Mander and activist Farah Naqvi sought setting up of an special investigation (SIT) team to inquire into the incident and compensation for those killed and injured in the violence.
Advocate Sneha Mukherjee, while mentioning the plea, said they are seeking that action be taken against certain individuals who are inciting people and making hate speeches due to which violence has erupted in various parts of northeast Delhi.
It has also sought directions to the Centre for deployment of the Army to maintain law and order in the national capital and areas where the "communal attack on people are most ferocious".
Communal violence over the amended citizenship law in northeast Delhi claimed at least 17 lives till Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the violence escalated in northeast Delhi as police struggled to check the rioters who ran amok on streets, burning and looting shops, pelting stones and thrashing people.
Delhi Police head constable, Ratan Lal, was among those killed in the violence that erupted on Monday over the amended citizenship law.
The petition, filed through advocates Fazal Abdali and Nabila Hasan, said that on February 22, around 500 people reached the Jafrabad Metro Station where women were holding peaceful protests against the CAA.
On February 23, BJP leader Kapil Mishra held a rally in support of the CAA near the Maujpur Metro Station, situated at a distance of 1.4 km from the Jafrabad Police Station, and allegedly made "inflammatory, provocative and inciteful statements" and also posted a tweet on social media in this regard, it alleged.
The petition sought direction to the authorities to register an FIR against Mishra, Union minister Anurag Thakur and BJP MP Parvesh Verma and others who are allegedly "engaged in criminal activities, including rioting and inciting hatred among classes under the Indian Penal Code and the Damage of Public Property Act.
It has sought direction to the authorities to declare on their website the full list with names of persons that were detained by police and paramilitary forces.
It sought to provide detained persons access to their family members and to legal counsel and also to preserve the evidence and CCTV footage of all cameras in and around the protest sites.
The plea said the authorities be directed to ensure the safety and protection of all the protest sites, especially women and children.
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ED searches: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah accuses Centre of targeting Cong leaders
Chamarajanagara (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday accused the central government and its agencies of consistently targeting Congress members by using searches on their properties, and questioned why similar action is not taken against BJP leaders.
He was reacting to searches conducted by the Enforcement Directorate on Monday on several individuals, among them the sons of Karnataka Congress MLA N A Haris and the grandson of former Union Cabinet minister K Rahman Khan, in connection with a cryptocurrency-linked money laundering case.
"The central government always targets Congress leaders. Will they raid the houses of BJP leaders?" Siddaramaiah said in response to a question. More than a dozen premises in the city were searched as part of the operation carried out by the ED under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The premises searched comprised those of Mohammed Haris Nalapad and Omar Farook Nalapad, the sons of the MLA; Aqeeb Khan, the grandson of veteran Congress leader K Rahman Khan; and an alleged crypto hacker, Srikrishna Ramesh, alias Sriki, officials said.
The money laundering case stems from Karnataka Police FIRs and charge sheets filed in a 2017 case involving the hacking of national and international websites, theft of bitcoins, and the sale of these stolen virtual digital assets (VDAs) through crypto platforms by the alleged hacker Sriki and his associates.
Mohammed Haris Nalapad, Omar Farook Nalapad, and Aqeeb Khan are alleged to be beneficiaries of the proceeds of crime generated through this crypto-linked activity, officials added.
