Days after arresting 23 men and apprehending three juveniles, the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police after taking legal opinion has decided to book five men, including the alleged main conspirator Ansar Sheikh, under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) in connection with the violence in Jahangirpuri, The Indian Express has learnt.
The move comes a day after Union Home Minister Amit Shah called for strict action against the rioters to avoid a repeat of the 2020 Delhi riots.
The police said that among those booked under the NSA are Ansar, the alleged ‘main conspirator’ behind the violence, and Sonu Chikna, who was seen in a video opening fire during the violence on Saturday. The other three have been identified as Salim, Dilshad and Ahir, according to the police.
In 2020, Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Anil Baijal issued an order giving the police commissioner the power to detain individuals under the tough National Security Act (NSA), 1980. A notification to this effect was issued on January 10, 2020, and the order came into effect on January 19. An identical order was issued on October 16, 2015, conferring the “powers of detaining authority” upon the commissioner for the period 19.10.2015 to 18.1.2016. Najeeb Jung was L-G at the time. The January 10 notification speaks of “powers conferred by the sub-section (3) of section 3, read with clause (e) of Section 2 of the National Security Act, 1980”. Section 3 of the Act deals with the “Power to make orders detaining certain persons”.
Sources said the special investigation team (SIT) of the Crime Branch is collecting old criminal records of all the arrested men along with the case status. The police on Tuesday said that a man named Gulli has been arrested for allegedly supplying weapons to an accused who was part of the Jahangirpuri violence. Another accused has been identified as Dilshad (25). “Multiple purported videos of the Jahangirpuri violence have emerged which are being analysed by the Crime Branch team to identify the culprits further,” a senior police officer said.
Last Saturday, communal clashes took place during a Hanuman Jayanti procession in Jahangirpuri that left nine people injured after which the Delhi Police filed two separate First Information Reports (FIRs).