New Delhi: The violence that broke out in Delhi’s Jahangirpuri on April 16 is part of some Sangh affiliates’ agenda to use religious occasions to create communal disharmony, the Left parties said in a fact-finding report released on Tuesday.
Based on its interaction with the people of the affected area in northwest Delhi, the team said Hindus and Muslims have been living there “together for decades” and claimed that those who participated in the violence on Saturday were outsiders.
The report noted that the violence broke out when a Hanuman Jayanti procession led by Bajrang Dal activists, who were armed with pistols and swords, reached in front of a mosque.
“Why wasn’t it stopped then? Why were they allowed to raise slogans outside the mosque at a time when the Roza was completed and a crowd of Muslims was expected?” the report asked, holding the Delhi Police responsible for the clashes between two communities.
The fact-finding team comprised CPI(M), CPI, CPIML and Forward Bloc leaders.
“They said that a group of 150-200 men were roaming the streets in a procession with DJ and loud noise and carrying weapons since the afternoon. The locals said that they saw people in the procession brandishing pistols and swords. This can be verified through television footage as well.
“They also said that people were shouting forceful and attacking slogans. The team was told that this procession was not organised by locals, but by the youth wing of the Bajrang Dal. The people said that they were outsiders,” the report stated.
It claimed that when the violence broke out, the procession was on its third round of the locality.
“If the local Muslims had conspired to attack the procession as has been alleged by BJP leaders, the attack would have happened earlier,” the report said.
Holding the Delhi Police responsible for the violence, it asked why an armed procession was allowed to gather in front of a mosque.
“They said locals gathered in large numbers amidst fears that the procession will enter the mosque.” the report said.
It noted that while vehicles were burnt, female residents of the area who opposed raids at their houses were “manhandled” by police personnel.
The report stated that the locals said the stone pelting began from both ends. They also told the team on the condition of anonymity that some members of the minority community “even brought weapons later”.
The team members went to the police station and alleged that they found Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta and MP Hans Raj Hans addressing a press conference on the police station premises in the presence of police officials.
“Around them were people shouting Jai Shri Ram slogans. The third question is: Does this not clearly show the partiality of the police? The team found that in the entire area, there was no confidence in the police and that it was a completely one-sided prejudiced inquiry influenced by BJP leaders.
“It is also to be noted that the BJP has openly praised the role of the police. In this connection, the one-sided arrests by the police of mainly members of the minority community, even though video evidence is available of the provocative behaviour and aggressive actions of the processionists, is totally unjust and motivated,” the report said.
The team also found that among the people living in the locality, there has never been any communal clash and Hindus and Muslims have been living there together for decades. The report said it is “shocking” that the BJP should describe people living in the area as “illegal” or Rohingya refugees.
“The team found that the incidents in Jahangirpuri have occurred as a part of the agenda of some of the Sangh parivar affiliates to use religious occasions and festivals as occasions to create communal incidents.
“In the case in Delhi, it should be seen in conjunction with the earlier incidents. The South Delhi Municipal Corporation Mayor from the BJP announced a ban on the sale of non-vegetarian food, ABVP tried to enforce vegetarian food in JNU and attacked those protested, Rajaram a caretaker of a farmhouse in Chhawla village was killed by cow vigilantes alleging slaughter and to all this is the Jahangirpuri communal violence as the latest chapter,” it said.
The Left parties appealed to people to maintain unity and demanded that the home ministry and the president “reverse” the partiality of the Delhi Police.
“Action should be taken against the guilty police personnel immediately. The police should ensure immediate action against these divisive forces. The delay would only explain the unreliability of the government in such issues. The Lieutenant Governor of Delhi should immediately intervene, breaking his silence,” they said.
