Court seeks action taken report on petition for FIR against BJP MLA, others

New delhi: A Delhi court has sought an action taken report (ATR) from police on a complaint an FIR against BJP MLA Mohan Singh Bisht and 21 others for allegedly taking part in north-east Delhi communal riots this February, during which at least 53 people were killed, nearly 40 of whom were Muslim.

Metropolitan Magistrate Rakesh Kumar Rampuri directed the Station House Officer (SHO) of Khajuri Khas police station to place the ATR on the complaint before it by December 10.

The court was hearing a complaint from one Mohd Mumtaj, who had alleged that when he had gone to file a police complaint against Bisht and the others he could identify rioting and targetting people from his community, the police had refused to register the case.

Mumtaj's lawyer Mehmood Pracha had filed the complaint in court, where it was alleged that Bisht had arrived amid Hindu rioters with his driver and another person with a "tikka", following which the rioters targetting Muslims had started shouting "Mohan Singh Bisht Zindabad". The mob allegedly went on to vandalise his shop, loot it and set it on fire. It was this mob that had raised slogans supporting Bisht.

As per the complaint, when Mumtaj went to the Dayalpur police station to register his complaint, a police officer there told him to register an unnamed complaint by only mentioning the loss suffered by him otherwise they will not register the complaint. Mumtaj gave in and filed an unnamed complaint, it stated.