A Delhi court on Tuesday directed the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) against BJP leader and Delhi Minister Kapil Mishra over his alleged role in the riots that rocked the North-Eastern areas of Delhi in 2020.
After perusing the material on record, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Vaibhav Chaurasia of the Rouse Avenue Courts found Mishra guilty of cognisable offence regarding one of the incidents referred to in the complaint.
The judge said Mishra was present in the area in question.
The Counsel appearing for the Delhi Police opposed the petition on the grounds that Mishra had no role to play in the 2020 riots. There was a well-planned conspiracy to frame Mishra in connection with the riots, he added.
Citing chats of various WhatsApp groups, including the Delhi Protest Support Group (DPSG), the prosecution said that the alleged conspirators were trying to portray a narrative on social media against Mishra and running a campaign using #ArrestKapilMishra.
Police further submitted that Mishra’s alleged role in the commission of the riots had been investigated and that nothing incriminating has been found.
In October last year, the Delhi Police submitted that the riots were the result of a conspiracy hatched to incite and cause violence in Muslim majority areas close to Mosques or Mazars and main roads, in order to escalate agitations and chakka jam, once a critical mass was generated, at an appropriate time.
It was also submitted that WhatsApp messages were being circulated to spread rumours that the mob led by Kapil Mishra had provoked violence at that time.
The order was passed on a complaint filed by one Mohd Ilyas. He sought registration of FIR against Mishra, then SHO of Dayalpur police station, BJP MLA Mohan Singh Bisht, former BJP MLAs Jagdish Pradhan and Satpal Sansad, and others.
Ilyas alleged in his complaint that on February 23, 2020, he witnessed Mishra and his associates blocking a road and destroying street vendors’ carts. He further claimed that the then Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northeast) and other cops stood next to Mishra, warning the protestors to vacate the area or face consequences.
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