National Commission for Minorities gives clean chit to Delhi Police in Trilokpuri riots

NEW DELHI: A preliminary report of the National Commission for Minorities, which sent a fact-finding team to the riot-affected area of Trilokpuri, gives a clean chit to Delhi Police that had been blamed for delaying imposition of Section 144 when the first clashes broke out on the night of Diwali.

The three-member team, however, pointed out in its report that "Muslims in the area are apprehensive of the police and its investigation into the incident and the arrests made". The report said they were worried about observing Muharram on November 4. The above apprehensions were conveyed to Joint Police Commissioner (East) Sanjay Beniwal on October 28 when he deposed in front of the Commission.

According to sources, NCM has also extracted an assurance from the police that the ‘mata ki chowki’, a temporary religious structure erected in Block 20 of Trilokpuri that led to violence, will be dismantled on October 31, that is when the permission expires. Interestingly, the report does not mention anything about an alleged meeting held at BJP leader Sunil Vaidya’s residence, which the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) accused of stoking violence in the area.

The NCM report, however, states that the Muslim residents in the area accused some local Hindu boys of Block 20 of "exacerbating" the situation.

NCM officials told ET that the report prepared by the three-member team, comprising Dr. Ajaib Singh, Farida Abdullah Khan and Praveen Davar, was submitted to the Commission on Friday, but will only come up for discussion on November 5. "The final view of the Commission will be conveyed to the Home Ministry only after November 5," a NCM source said.