Order a Judicial Probe into Delhi Violence

Date: 
Friday, February 28, 2020

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement:

The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) expresses its strong disapproval over the manner in which the Central Government, which is in-charge of the law and order situation in the capital, is dealing with the communal violence.

The Polit Bureau takes particular note on the composition of the two special investigation teams for probing the communal violence.  Each one is led by officers of the rank of the Deputy Commissioner and both of them have played a questionable role in handling the Shaheen Bagh, JNU and Jamia violence earlier where one of them had been actually indicted by the Election Commission.

The role of Delhi police in preempting the violence is highly questionable.  This violence has so far left 38 dead, hundreds injured, thousands displaced and their livelihood gone.  The attempt now is to whitewash the role of the perpetrators.

National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval, has made a shocking statement while talking to victims of  violence that “whatever happened has happened” (jo hua so hua).  The same approach was evident in the unseemly developments  in the Delhi High Court where the Delhi police categorically refused to indict those who have given public speeches to incite communal polarization.

The Polit Bureau feels that the need of the hour is to create confidence among the people and the post violence trauma that people have to cope with in north-east Delhi and the sense of insecurity elsewhere.  Instead of doing this, if the so-called investigation is used to whitewash the role of the perpetrators and selectively handout  clean chits, it will invariably lead to further widening of the chasm.

The Polit Bureau, therefore, urges the Central government that since the role of the Delhi police has come under a huge cloud, the commissioning of a judicial probe by a Supreme Court judge, or, a Supreme Court-monitored enquiry is imperative to dispel doubts about any partisan approach in restoring all-round confidence.

(For CPI(M) Central Committee office)