2020 riots: HC Ratan Lal's killer held from Aligarh after 2 years
New Delhi: Delhi Police arrested Mohd Wasim alias Bablu, accused in the killing of Head Constable Ratan Lal
during the 2020 Delhi riots, from Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh. He was absconding for the last two years.
A special investigating team was constituted and during the course of investigation, the team developed information and deployed sources in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. Raids were conducted at several places in Delhi, but no clue was found about the accused. ASI Mohd. Rahisuddin got inputs from his sources that the accused Wasim is staying in a very clandestine manner in Aligarh. Thereafter, information was developed from Aligarh and it was confirmed that the accused is working in a small factory of one Dilshad. Further, the team was also able to establish his precise location in Aligarh. Then Wasim was arrested recently.
In January 2020, protests against CAA/NRC were going on at Northeast Delhi's Chand Bagh. On February 23, 2020, the protestors, despite the proclamation of prohibition orders, under section 144 CrPC, continued their illegal protests at Chand Bagh to grab the attention of the worldwide media during the visit of the then USA President Donald Trump. Because of the extreme
tension in the area, in the afternoon of February 24, 2020, on the call of the organisers, protestors carrying sticks, improvised weapons, iron rods, swords, stones, petrol bombs and chemical weapons started rushing to the Wazirabad Road. The senior police officers and staff instructed them to return to the service road.
However, the unlawful assembly of the protestors did not pay heed to their directions and became violent and started pelting stones and petrol bombs, etc. at the police personnel. Thereafter, the protestors became extremely violent and started attacking the police personnel. More than 50 police personnel were injured while they were trying to pacify them. HC Ratanlal, who was deployed for law and order arrangements, laid down his life while performing his duties.
Amit Sharma, the then DCP Shahdara and Anuj Kumar, the then ACP Gokulpuri, were seriously injured. The violent mob damaged and burnt government and private vehicles. In this regard, a case on February 25, 2020, under sections 186/ 353/332/333/147/148/149/336/427/ 307/302/120B IPC was registered at Dayalpur police station and further investigation of the case was transferred to Crime Branch.
Based on analysis of CCTVs or available videos (taken into police possession near the place of the incident), by way of CDR locations, statements of the witnesses or disclosures of the accused persons, 22 accused persons were identified and arrested, while five accused persons absconded and were declared Proclaimed Offenders from the court. During the incident, 50 other policemen were also injured.
Police claimed that the accused disclosed during the interrogation that he along with his friends started participating in Anti CAA protest in Feb 2020 where he came in contact with several rabble rousers and anti-social elements. On the day of the incident, he along with his associates, filled thinner
in glass bottles and kept the filled bottles in a carton and placed them on the terrace of a house. These crude bombs were thrown at the police officers during the riot. After the incident, the accused destroyed his mobile phone and did not even contact his relatives for the last two years, police also added.
