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According to the chargesheet, people who were out on the streets in protest against the CAA were served rumours that the BJP leader’s men have set an anti-CAA protest site on fire
New Delhi: Rumours that some supporters of BJP leader Kapil Mishra have set a stage at an anti-CAA protest site on fire could have sparked large-scale violence in Delhi in February, Delhi Police sources have said. This detail has come out of an investigation into the killing of head constable Ratan Lal, 42, during the violence that swallowed large parts of north-east Delhi.
The clashes were linked to the Citizenship Amendment Act or CAA that fast-tracks citizenship to religious non-Muslim minorities from neighbouring nations.
According to the chargesheet, people who were out on the streets in protest against the CAA were served rumours that the BJP leader’s men have set an anti-CAA protest site on fire. Mr Mishra had led a rally on February 23 in favour of the CAA in north-east Delhi’s Maujpur area. The spot was near Jaffrabad, where a protest against the CAA was on.
The police sources have said the rumours were spread by a section of the rioters so that the rest of them could be enraged and pushed into committing violence. Head constable Ratan Lal died after this mob attacked him as they went about damaging and setting property on fire, the police said.
“There were rumours that an anti-CAA protest site at Chand Bagh had been set on fire by Kapil Mishra’s men, but we didn’t see anything like that happen,” the police sources said, quoting an eyewitness in the chargesheet.
The chargesheet says Swaraj India chief Yogendra Yadav gave a speech at the anti-CAA protest at Chand Bagh. Mr Yadav’s name is not in the list of accused in the chargesheet.
The latest chargesheet filed in connection with the Delhi riots has made no mention of incendiary speeches by BJP leaders, including Mr Mishra. At the rally, he gave an “ultimatum” to the Delhi Police to clear the roads in the area, else, he said, they would have to hit the streets.
Hours later, clashes had broken out between the two groups, which spiralled over the next few days. Over 50 died in the violence.
News Credit NDTV