'Rioters used juvenile to disarm CCTVs in Chand Bagh on Feb 24'
New Delhi: As many as 20 CCTV cameras were allegedly dislocated or covered with a cloth while 20 others were disconnected from their power sources by rioters at several locations across north-east Delhi's Chand Bagh on February 24 last year when deadly riots broke out in the area, which was immediately followed by a brutal attack on police personnel, loss of lives and property, the Delhi Police has claimed.
In its third supplementary chargesheet in the "larger conspiracy" case submitted before Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat, the cognizance for which was taken by the court on March 2, police have claimed that a juvenile was purportedly being used as a "scissor" in the disconnection of the CCTV cameras.
They alleged that these highly critical CCTV cameras had been marked by the "key conspirators" as being a cause of concern and accordingly, "...a juvenile was pressed into action in close follow up to disconnect them from their power source before the key rioters actually moved out from their locations and towards the main Wazirabad road which saw the brutal murder of a police staff and life-threatening injuries being inflicted upon a DCP and an ACP. Police claimed that the juvenile, being lean and fit, was allegedly asked by accused Shadab Ahmad to "quickly follow the surcharged mob which was dislocating the key cameras and to disconnect them..."
According to police, soon after the alleged dislocation and disconnection of CCTV cameras, a large-scale mobilization of rioters took place which moved towards the Wazirabad road and reportedly started the riots. Following this, the rioters allegedly blocked and started a Chakka Jaam on the main Wazirabad Road, police claimed, adding: "Within 10 minutes of the final camera being dislocated/disconnected, the first major casualty of the riots i.e., the death of Head Constable Ratan Lal on the road on which the rioters had descended, uncaptured by the 'dead cameras', had taken place".
Out of a total of 20 CCTV cameras analysed by police, installed at several locations in Chand Bagh, 12 of them were allegedly covered with a cloth, two of them were covered by a sack, two were covered by a bedsheet, two had their directions changed upward while one of them had its direction changed downward.
Further analysis by police revealed that 20 CCTV cameras installed across Chand Bagh were disconnected. "Disconnection of power sources of these CCTV cameras was done very systematically in a very short span of 24 minutes... on February 24," police stated in their chargesheet.
In the chargesheet, where police have used various maps and video footage to show mobilisation of alleged rioters, prosecution has claimed that a total of 43 CCTV camera footage from the predominantly non-Muslim areas of Khajoori Khas, Karawal Nagar, Sonia Vihar and Jyoti Nagar were seized and analysed for the period from 12 PM to 1 PM on February 24. "It was found that the life in these areas was normal, tranquil and undisturbed during the same relevant time and there was no gathering or mobilization".
However, police claimed that in predominantly Muslim areas of Chand Bagh and Mustafabad, "a large scale mobilisation of Muslim community carrying swords, sticks, lathis, iron rods, etc. was taking place.
