“We kept calling the @DelhiPolice but they did not come.”— riot survivor

On 11 March @Amit Shah gave a clean chit to the Delhi police in the Lok Sabha saying it did a “commendable job” in controlling #DelhiRiots. A new report by @AIIndia reveals the opposite.

The new Amnesty report lists violations such as “Delhi police officers indulging in violence with the rioters; torturing in custody; using excessive force on protesters; dismantling protest sites used by peaceful protesters and being mute bystanders as rioters wreaked havoc.”

“The Delhi police reports to the MHA and it is shocking that there has been no attempt by the MHA to hold the Delhi police accountable till now. This, despite several of their violations being live-streamed on social media platforms,” said @Avinash_1_Kumar

From my shop, Maujpur Chowk is about 100 metres. Over there, I saw Kapil Mishra come and give an inflammatory speech. After his speech, the public which was listening to him started gathering sticks and other weapons,” Moinuddin, a riot survivor in Maujpur told Amnesty.

“I got scared and shut my shop. Within hours, I came to know that my shop was set on fire. I called the fire brigade but they did not even respond.... both Hindus and Muslims have shops. We have lived peacefully till the riots. I do not understand what is happening now in Delhi.”

A common response from police to riot survivors when the victims tried calling was “Ye lo Azaadi (Take your Freedom)”, evidently a response to the popular slogan of ‘Hum Kya Chahte? Azaadi (We want freedom)’ used by protesters, Amnesty found.

Amnesty verified this video of 26-year-old Faizan. His mother Kismatun told @AllIndia “I went to the police station along with my son’s photograph. I showed them his photograph and asked if he was there and they said yes.”

“I asked them if they would let me see him and if they would let him go. The policeman said no. But I still waited there till 1 o’clock in the night,” she said.

Faizan was detained by the police for close to 36 hours without any charge. He was handed over to his mother at 1 AM on 26 February after his condition deteriorated. The police refused to give the family any paperwork to show he had been detained, he died later that day.