A REPORT BY D CITIZENS & LAWYERS INITIATIVE DELHI RIOTS OF FEBRUARY 2020 CAUSES, FALLOUT AND AFTERMATH PROLOGUE BY JUSTICE B.N. SRIKRISHNA EDITED BY CHANDER UDAY SINGH SENIOR ADVOCATE A REPORT BY CITIZENS & LAWYERS INITIATIVE DELHI RIOTS OF FEBRUARY 2020 CAUSES, FALLOUT AND AFTERMATH PROLOGUE BY Justice B.N. SRIKRISHNA EDITED BY CHANDER UDAY SINGH Senior Advocate Front cover photo: Cars burning in Bhajanpura area, 24 February 2020. (Courtesy: NBT Dilli (@NBT Dilli). Back cover photo: Seven-year old Alina Azad in her Karawal Nagar home after it was burnt by a mob. (Courtesy: Shahid Tantray, photojournalist and Assistant Photo Editor, The Caravan ). License: This report may be used, reproduced, or translated freely for non-commercial purposes, with due acknowledgement and attribution. September 2020 Published by: Chander Uday Singh for Citizens & Lawyers Initiative 137 Sunder Nagar (2nd Fl.) New Delhi 110003 +91 11 41825959 [email protected] Printed and bound in India CONTENTS PROLOGUE ....................................................................................................................................... 7 INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................................. 9 Methodology and Rationale .................................................................................................................. 12 1. BRIEF CHORONOLOGY OF PRECEDING EVENTS ........................................................... 15 2. PRELUDE TO THE VIOLENCE AND EARLY WARNING SIGNS.................................... 23 2.1 The Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019; ....................................................................................... 24 2.1.1 CAA – NRC – NPR and the Architecture of Exclusion...................................................... 25 2.1.2 Documents to Prove Citizenship........................................................................................... 27 2.1.3 Potential Cut Off Dates for NRC ........................................................................................... 28 2.1.4 Key Concerns ........................................................................................................................... 28 2.2 Protests, Demands, and Resolutions.............................................................................................. 29 2.2.1 North-East................................................................................................................................. 29 2.2.2 Delhi .......................................................................................................................................... 31 2.2.3 Uttar Pradesh ........................................................................................................................... 40 2.2.4 Rest of the Country.................................................................................................................. 43 2.2.5 Resolutions ............................................................................................................................... 45 2.3 Pro-CAA/NRC Marches, Rallies and Direct Action.................................................................... 47 2.4 Kapil Mishra in North-East Delhi................................................................................................... 50 2.5 The Tale of Two Universities........................................................................................................... 53 2.5.1 Jamia Millia Islamia................................................................................................................. 53 2.5.2 Jawaharlal Nehru University: Attack Continues ................................................................ 58 2.6 Delhi Elections: A Reckless Communal Campaign ..................................................................... 62 2.6.1 Incitement and Call to Action................................................................................................ 63 2.6.2 Provocative Speeches Provided the Fertile Ground? ......................................................... 63 2.6.3 The Role of Election Commission ......................................................................................... 65 2.6.4 After BJP’s Electoral Defeat.................................................................................................... 66 2.7 Instrumentalizing Social Media ...................................................................................................... 67 2.8 Inaction, Impunity, and Escalation................................................................................................. 70 3. THE DAYS OF VIOLENCE ....................................................................................................... 75 3.1 Mobilising the Violence.................................................................................................................... 76 3.1.1 WhatsApp Group Chronology – collated excerpts (time included where available).... 77 3.2 Local Vigilantism and Complicity.................................................................................................. 85 DELHI RIOTS: CAUSES, FALLOUT AND AFTERMATH 4 3.3 Fact – Finding Reports...................................................................................................................... 87 3.4 Gender – Based Violence.................................................................................................................. 90 3.4.1 Testimonies from Women ...................................................................................................... 92 3.5 Sequence of Incidents as Violence Unfolded ................................................................................ 96 3.5.1 February 23, 2020, Sunday...................................................................................................... 96 3.5.2 February 24, 2020, Monday .................................................................................................... 99 3.5.3 February 25, 2020, Tuesday.................................................................................................. 105 3.5.4 February 26, 2020, Wednesday ............................................................................................ 108 3.6 Immediate Aftermath ..................................................................................................................... 118 3.7 Property Damage ............................................................................................................................ 121 3.7.1 Damage caused to religious places ..................................................................................... 123 3.8 Post-Violence Testimonies............................................................................................................. 126 4. ROLE AND RESPONSE OF THE POLICE AND ADMINISTRATION ............................131 4.1 Police Response when the Violence Broke Out .......................................................................... 135 4.2 Administrative Response............................................................................................................... 140 4.3 Police Apathy and Contribution to the Escalation of Violence ................................................ 143 4.4 Post-Violence Conduct of the Delhi Police.................................................................................. 147 4.4.1 Police’s Reactions to Complaints......................................................................................... 147 4.5 Investigations Conducted .............................................................................................................. 151 4.6 Charge-sheets and FIRs.................................................................................................................. 153 4.7 Are Detentions and Arrests One Sided?...................................................................................... 158 5. RELIEF AND REHABILITATION...........................................................................................181 5.1 Tedious Process............................................................................................................................... 183 5.1.2 Gaps between Compensation Promised and Disbursed.................................................. 185 5.1.3 Testimonies of the Victims ................................................................................................... 187 5.2 The Situation of Relief Camps....................................................................................................... 188 5.2.1 Why there were Few Takers of Relief Camps.................................................................... 191 5.2.2 Displaced twice...................................................................................................................... 192 5.3 Role of Health System .................................................................................................................... 193 5.3.1 Collapse of Health System during Riots ............................................................................ 194 5.3.2 From Shaming to Inflicting Horrors ................................................................................... 195