Explained: How poor evidence, fabrication marred police probe into Delhi carnage

In February 2020, Delhi witnessed its worst episode of Hindu-Muslim violence since independence, leaving 53 people dead. The carnage in the city’s northeast came amid protests against the citizenship law and the National Register of Citizens by the local Muslim community.

For 16 months now, the Delhi police has been investigating the carnage. Newslaundry’s reportage on the probe reveals three distinct patterns: the police’s targeting of Muslim men, who are accused of killing fellow Muslims; the shoddy quality of evidence produced in chargesheets; and fabricated statements of the accused and eyewitnesses.

In this explainer, Newslaundry’s Ayush Tiwari explains how the police has shied away from probing the role of Hindu mobs in these cases. The participation of police personnel in the violence, captured on camera, has also been brushed under the table.

Watch.