One year after Delhi riots, families of jailed activists demand justice

New Delhi: Families of Khalid Saifi and Athar Khan, who are in jail for their alleged role in the north-east Delhi riots last year, addressed the media on Friday as one year since the violence was stopped.

Addressing the media and updating them about the situation, Nargis Saifi, wife of Khalid Saifi spoke about the alleged custodial torture that he faced. "This is very clear that no violence took place in Khajuri Khas even though the media showed otherwise. No violence took place in Khajuri. On February 26, 2020 when my husband was told that the police is cracking down on the protest site, he, as a responsible person who has been taking care of the protest, went to see what was happening."

"When he intervened the police took him away. We had no idea what had happened with him and where he was taken. In jail, he was beaten up, hair from his beard was pulled out, his head was forced into a tub of water and he mentioned that he heard a police officer asking someone whether he should urinate on him," she narrated while breaking down.

It has been a year since the Delhi riots and the families are still waiting for justice. Narrating her ordeal, Noor Jahan, mother of Athar Khan who has been in jail for eight months, said that it has been recently that they have been able to speak to him. "His physical health is not good and mentally he is a little better. We are suffering and miss him every day," she said before breaking down.

Khan's family said that inside the jail, "people are criminals but not communal."

His mother said that the hearing in the case has not even started and they have no way of knowing what is coming next. Meanwhile, Caravan magazine editor Hartosh Singh Bal spoke about the crackdown on the media and said, "A criminal has a pattern or behaviour. There has been a pattern with this government as well. This media is complicit and has that communalisation that this government has."

He said that to win an election one needs capital investment. "BJP has about 90 per cent of expenditure during elections. This imbalance has never taken place in India's electoral history."

He added that everyone knows about the intention behind CAA and MSP procurement. "When this is imposed on people, protests start taking place while the government tries to criminalise it."

The press conference was also attended by Dalit activist Rajveer Kaur who had come directly after attending her sister, Nodeep's bail hearing where the 24-year-old activist was granted bail.

Meanwhile, senior advocate Prashant Bhushan demanded an inquiry on the police officers who have allegedly tortured the activists in custody. "These police officers should be recognised and a trial should start on them," he added.

Moreover, student activists on Friday held a protest at Jantar Mantar and many activists and families of activists in jail currently also joined the protest.

The call was given by student organisations All India Students Association (AISA) and Students' Federation of India (SFI). The protesters demanded justice for survivors and victims of the Delhi riots. Candles were also lit for those who were killed in the riots.