Delhi Police to probe ‘premeditated’ angle, involvement of criminal elements in CJP’s July protest

Delhi Police Crime Branch has begun probing violence during a July 20 protest in the capital, focusing on alleged assaults, vandalism and damage to public property and whether the violence was premeditated. The investigation follows Supreme Court directions quashing related FIRs 

New Delhi: The Delhi Police Crime Branch has started investigating the violence that broke out during the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) protest in the national capital in July and has registered a case under relevant sections of the law, according to sources on Thursday.

The Crime Branch sources said the probe will focus on the role of those responsible for the violence that broke out in New Delhi on July 20. The Crime Branch will specifically investigate whether the violence was “premeditated” or whether “criminal elements” entered the protest sites when the CJP called for a march to Parliament.

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On the directions of the Supreme Court, Delhi Police has already cancelled 17 FIRs related to the violence. The Crime Branch will now specifically probe the violence, which involved assaults on police personnel, vandalism and destruction of public property, including police vehicles.

On July 20, a large number of protesters gathered in and around Jantar Mantar in Delhi. Around 30,000 people took to the streets and attempted to march toward Parliament demanding action against the paper leaks and other examination-related irregularities.

As the situation deteriorated, clashes broke out between the police and the protesters. The police used force, leading to widespread criticism.

Following this incident, the police’s intelligence system was reviewed.

Officials felt that they lacked adequate and accurate prior input regarding the number of protesters, their mobilisation, and the role of various organisations. Therefore, the Delhi Police Special Branch was instructed to develop more detailed and usable intelligence inputs, rather than simply gathering information about the location of the protest and estimated crowd.

However, in September, the Supreme Court quashed FIRs registered against student protesters in Delhi, Bihar, Maharashtra, West Bengal, and Assam in connection with protests held between July 20 and 25, and directed that similar cases registered across the country will not be pursued or investigated.