Did the police give permission to participants of the Hanuman Shobha Yatra held in Jehangirpuri in north-east Delhi on Saturday to carry firearms and swords, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat asked Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana to explain.
In a letter, Ms. Karat also criticised the Delhi Police for carrying out a “one-sided” investigation where only those belonging to one community were being arrested for the riots. The Delhi Police should explain why the procession was allowed to stop in front of the mosque, triggering the riots.
“You have stated that people from both communities have been arrested. We stand for the arrest and punishment of all those guilty. However, the overwhelming majority of arrests are from the minority community whereas the course of events shows that the main provocations and planning for the incidents was done by the organisation which held the procession, an affiliate of the Bajrang Dal as stated by the police,” Ms. Karat wrote.
