Delhi Police’s Crime Branch has registered a new FIR over violence during the CJP-led Parliament march on July 20, reopening an investigation into whether the unrest involved a larger conspiracy ahead of another protest planned in the capital on October 10.
According to information cited by PTI, the investigation will examine whether the violence was pre-planned, identify people who allegedly provoked the crowd and establish the roles of individuals present during the march. The FIR invokes provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to criminal conspiracy, attacks on public servants, vandalism and rioting.
The new case has been registered a day before CJP is scheduled to return to Jantar Mantar. The organisation has announced a protest seeking Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation and a stay on the Special Intensive Revision, or SIR. Police have not granted permission for the proposed demonstration.
Police sources told PTI that the Crime Branch will reconstruct the sequence of events surrounding the July 20 call for a march towards Parliament. Investigators will assess whether criminal elements entered the protest after the march was announced, determine the role of individual participants and examine messages sent before and during the disturbance.
The July demonstration reportedly involved clashes between protesters and security personnel. Police used batons and tear gas to disperse the crowd. Several police personnel and student protesters were injured, while public property was damaged and government buildings were allegedly defaced, according to the report. The Crime Branch is examining these incidents as part of the new investigation.
The development follows earlier legal proceedings involving cases filed after protests at Jantar Mantar. The Supreme Court had cancelled 17 FIRs registered at several police stations in New Delhi district following the demands of CJP and the government’s consent. At the same time, the court allowed Delhi Police, on the Centre’s request, to register fresh FIRs against 2,873 people whom police had identified as having serious criminal backgrounds and who were allegedly present at the protest.
Police have said that these individuals were identified through a facial-recognition system. The force had also stated that the system was approximately 50 per cent accurate. The Crime Branch will now examine the role of those 2,873 people as part of the wider inquiry, rather than treating the identification itself as proof of involvement in the violence.
Investigators will also look at whether participants were asked to join the protest or attended independently, and whether they took part in the alleged violence. Police have said that identifying the alleged instigators and establishing the circumstances that led to the unrest are central purposes of the FIR.
The immediate administrative challenge for Delhi Police is to manage the October 10 protest while the earlier march remains under investigation. The police position, as reported by PTI, is that the new case will proceed through reconstruction of events, examination of communications and assessment of individual roles.
