A police case should be filed against Kapil Mishra, the Union minister for Law and Justice, and others to investigate their alleged role in the 2020 riots in Delhi, a city court has ordered.
Communal violence had rocked northeast Delhi in February 2020 that left 53 people dead, more than 500 injured, and property worth crores damaged.
Today, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Vaibhav Chaurasia said there is "prime facie" evidence of a cognisable offence against him that requires an investigation.
"It is clear that Mishra was in the area at the time of the alleged offence... further probe is required," the judge said.
Mr Chaurasia was hearing arguments on a plea filed by a Yamuna Vihar resident, Mohammad Ilyas, seeking registration of a First Information Report against Kapil Mishra and five others, including BJP MLA Mohan Singh Bisht, former BJP MLA Jagdish Pradhan and then Station House Officer of Dayalpur police station.
In his complaint, Mr Ilyas had said that he saw Kapil Mishra -- who was thena BJP MLa -- and others destroying vendors' carts in northeast Delhi's Kardampuri. The police stood next to them, warning protesters to vacate the area.
In his complaint, he also alleged that he saw the then Dayalpur SHO, along with BJP leaders Pradhan and Bisht, vandalising mosques across northeast Delhi.
The allegations were opposed by the Delhi Police, which had claimed earlier that Mr Mishra had no role in the riots.
The police had told the court that the BJP leader was being framed. His alleged role was investigated and nothing was found.
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