Photo of a house burned in the Delhi riots captured by Sibahathulla Sakib
Vindictive charge-sheet additions: Salman Khurshid, Prashant Bhushan named in Delhi riots charge sheet's disclosure statements
New Delhi: The supplementary charge-sheet filed about the Delhi riots case, comes up now with more names opposed to the BJP regime.
In the charge sheet filed by the Delhi Police in the Delhi riots case, names of Salman Khurshid and advocate Prashant Bhushan together with those of CPI (ML) Polit Bureau member Kavita Krishnan, CPI national leader Annie Raja, documentary film producer and scientist Gauhar Raza and Welfare Party of India president Dr SQR Ilyas, father of the recently arrested Umar Khalid, also figure as additional witnesses.
Their names have come up in the disclosure statement of the former Congress councillor Ishrat Jahan and one accused Khalid Saifi.
In her disclosure statement cited in the, Ishrat Jahan said that various personalities such as former External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, advocate Prashant Bhushan, activist Harsh Mander and activist-turned-politician Yogendra Yadav took part in the protests.
According to the supplementary charge-sheet, a similar statement was also given by Khalid Saifi and other witnesses. On September 16, the police filed a voluminous charge sheet against the accused under various sections of the UAPA, the Indian Penal Code, the Arms Act and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act. The copy of the charge sheet was supplied to their counsels on Monday.
The name of the second witness who mentioned the name of Salman Khurshid is kept undisclosed, and it is not mentioned where Khurshid has made the speech.
The riots that followed attacks on the protesters had further spread, leaving at least 53 people dead and around 200 injured.
The charge sheet names an array of supporters the anti-CAA protests for a range of charges from provocative speeches to inciting violence,lence, and those who supported them including Tahir Hussain, Safoora Zargar, Gulfisha Khatoon, Devangana Kalita, Shafa-ur-Rehman, Asif Iqbal Tanha, Abdul Khalid Saifi, Ishrat Jahan, Meeran Haidar among other.The names are cited as mentioned by a witness Shadab Ahmed, who was arrested for citizenship law protests by Delhi police.
The charge against Gauhar Raza is that he provoked Muslims through a speech in Khureji. But according to their top advocates Bora harsh and Pradeep Teotia, both Khalid Saifi and Ishrat Jahan were coerced by police into signing the statement.