2020 Delhi riots: Difference between revisions

The '''2020 Delhi riots''', or '''North East Delhi riots''', were multiple waves of bloodshed, property destruction, and rioting in [[North East Delhi]], beginning on 23 February 2020 and causedbrought about chiefly by Hindu mobs attacking Muslims.<ref name="guardian-3-16-20-1">{{citation|title=Delhi's Muslims despair of justice after police implicated in riots|last1=Ellis-Peterson|first1=Hannah|last2=Azizur Rahman|first2= Shaikh|location=Delhi|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/16/delhis-muslims-despair-justice-police-implicated-hindu-riots|date=16 March 2020|access-date=17 March 2020|quote= As the mob attacks came once, then twice and then a third time in this north-east Delhi neighbourhood, desperate stallholders repeatedly ran to Gokalpuri and Dayalpur police stations crying out for help. But each time they found the gates locked from the inside. For three days, no help came. ... Since the riots broke out in Delhi at the end of February, the worst religious conflict to engulf the capital in decades, questions have persisted about the role that the Delhi police played in enabling the violence, which was predominately Hindu mobs attacking Muslims. Of the 51 people who died, at least three-quarters were Muslim, and many Muslims are still missing.}}</ref><ref name="NYTimes-Analysis-March1">{{citation|last1=Gettleman|first1=Jeffrey|last2=Abi-Habib|first2=Maria|title=In India, Modi's Policies Have Lit a Fuse|date=1 March 2020|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/01/world/asia/india-modi-hindus.html|access-date=1 March 2020|quote=This past week, as neighborhoods in India's capital burned and religiously driven bloodletting consumed more than 40 lives, most of them Muslim, India's government was quick to say that the violence was spontaneous... Many Muslims are now leaving, hoisting their unburned things on their heads and trudging away from streets that still smell of smoke.}}</ref> Of the 53 people killed, two-thirds were Muslims who were shot, slashed with repeated blows, or set on fire.<ref name=nytimes-2020-3-12-two-thirds>{{citation|title='If We Kill You, Nothing Will Happen': How Delhi's Police Turned Against Muslims|first1=Jeffrey |last1=Gettleman|first2=Sameer|last2=Yasir|first3=Suhasini |last3=Raj|first4=Hari|last4=Kumar|others=Photographs by Loke, Atul|date=12 March 2020|access-date=13 March 2020|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/12/world/asia/india-police-muslims.html|quote=Two-thirds of the more than 50 people who were killed and have been identified were Muslim. }}</ref><ref name="wapo-3-6-20-slater-1">{{citation|last1=Slater|first1=Joanna|last2=Masih|first2=Niha|date=6 March 2020|title=In Delhi's worst violence in decades, a man watched his brother burn|newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/in-delhis-worst-violence-in-decades-a-man-watched-his-brother-burn/2020/03/05/892dbb12-5e45-11ea-ac50-18701e14e06d_story.html |access-date=6 March 2020|quote=At least 53 people were killed or suffered deadly injuries in violence that persisted for two days. The majority of those killed were Muslims, many shot, hacked or burned to death. A police officer and an intelligence officer were also killed. So too were more than a dozen Hindus, most of them shot or assaulted.}}</ref><ref name="wapo-3-2-20-slater-1">{{citation|last1=Slater|first1=Joanna|last2=Masih|first2=Niha|date=2 March 2020|title=What Delhi's worst communal violence in decades means for Modi's India |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/what-days-of-communal-violence-mean-for-modi-and-for-india/2020/03/01/3d649c18-5a68-11ea-8efd-0f904bdd8057_story.html |access-date=15 March 2020|quote=Zaitoon, 40, who goes by one name, half-cried as she rummaged through the items. She said mobs entered her lane shouting "Jai Shri Ram," or "Victory to Lord Ram," a slogan favored by Modi's party, and demanded to know which houses were occupied by Muslims. She said she saw a neighbor set on fire in front of her, an account repeated by other witnesses.}}</ref> The dead also included a policeman, an intelligence officer and over a dozen [[Hindus]], who were shot or assaulted.<ref name="wapo-3-6-20-slater-1"/><ref name="The Wire 2020 p680">{{cite news | title=Delhi Riots Death Toll at 53, Here Are the Names of the Victims | work=[[The Wire (India)]] | date=10 March 2020 <!-- Though the first version of this article was 26 February 2020, it had less names --> | url=https://thewire.in/communalism/delhi-riots-identities-deceased-confirmed | access-date=23 August 2023}}</ref> More than a week after the violence had ended, hundreds of wounded were languishing in inadequately staffed medical facilities and corpses were being found in open drains.<ref name="npr-3-7-20-frayer">{{citation|last1=Frayer|first1=Lauren|publisher=NPR|title=Delhi Riots Aftermath: 'How Do You Explain Such Violence?'|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/03/07/812193930/delhi-riots-aftermath-how-do-you-explain-such-violence|access-date=7 March 2020|date=7 March 2020|quote=But hundreds of wounded are languishing in understaffed medical facilities. Corpses are still being discovered in drainage ditches. Victims are still dying in hospitals. The death toll has reached 53... Police are facing accusations from victims, witnesses, human rights groups, opposition politicians and Muslim leaders worldwide that they failed to protect Muslim citizens, and in some cases, even incited attacks themselves.}}</ref> By mid-March many Muslims had remained missing.<ref name="guardian-3-16-20-1"/>

The riots had their origin in [[Jaffrabad, Delhi|Jaffrabad]], in North East Delhi, where a [[Shaheen Bagh protests|sit-in by women]] against India's [[Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019]] had been in progress on a stretch of the [[Seelampur metro station|Seelampur]]–[[Jaffrabad, Delhi|Jaffrabad]]–[[Maujpur - Babarpur metro station|Maujpur]] road, [[Traffic obstruction|blocking]] it.<ref name=diplomat-2-27-2020>{{citation|last1=Basu|first1=Soma|title=Delhi: The Anatomy of a Riot|url=https://thediplomat.com/2020/02/delhi-the-anatomy-of-a-riot/|access-date=6 March 2020|work=Diplomat|quote=BJP leader Kapil Mishra issued a 'three-day ultimatum' to police to clear a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) by women at the Jaffrabad Metro Station.}}</ref><ref name="uniindia">{{Cite web|url=http://www.uniindia.com/protests-at-jaffarabad-against-caa-security-beefed-up-2-metro-stations-closed/india/news/1896707.html|title=Protests at Jaffarabad against CAA; security beefed up, 2 metro stations closed|work=United News of India|date=23 February 2020|access-date=2 March 2020|quote=Demanding revocation of Citizenship (Amendment) Act, protesters—mostly women—on Sunday took to streets and blocked the road below Jaffrabad metro station.}}</ref> On 23 February 2020, a leader of the ruling [[Hindu nationalism|Hindu nationalist]] [[Bharatiya Janata Party]], [[Kapil Mishra]], called for [[Delhi Police]] to clear the roads, failing which he threatened to "hit the streets".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/video/kapil-mishra-bjp-jaffrabad-protest-delhi-police-3-days-ultimatum-1649286-2020-02-23|title=BJP leader Kapil Mishra's 3-day ultimatum to Delhi Police|website=India Today|date=23 February 2020 |access-date=26 February 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ndtv.com/delhi-news/bjp-leader-kapil-mishras-3-day-ultimatum-to-delhi-police-to-clear-anti-caa-protest-jaffrabad-2184627|title="We'll Be Peaceful Till Trump Leaves," BJP Leader Kapil Mishra Warns Delhi Police|website=NDTV.com|access-date=26 February 2020}}</ref> After Mishra's ultimatum, violence erupted.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Fresh violence erupts in Indian capital during anti-CAA protests|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/02/fresh-violence-erupts-indian-capital-anti-caa-protests-200224121139653.html|website=Al Jazeera|first=Bilal|last=Kuchay|date=24 February 2020|access-date=25 May 2020}}</ref> Initially, Hindu and Muslim attacks were equally lethal.<ref name=nytimes-2020-3-12-1>{{citation|title='If We Kill You, Nothing Will Happen': How Delhi's Police Turned Against Muslims|first1=Jeffrey |last1=Gettleman|first2=Sameer|last2=Yasir|first3=Suhasini |last3=Raj|first4=Hari|last4=Kumar|others=Photographs by Loke, Atul|date=12 March 2020|access-date=13 March 2020|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/12/world/asia/india-police-muslims.html|quote=When the violence started on Feb. 23 – as Hindu men gathered to forcibly eject a peaceful Muslim protest near their neighborhood – much of it became two-sided. By day's end, both Muslims and Hindus had been attacked, and dozens had been shot, apparently with small-bore homemade guns. But by Feb. 25 the direction had changed.}}</ref> Most deaths were attributed to gunfire.<ref name="veconomist-2">{{cite news|title= Donald Trump and Narendra Modi hug as Delhi burns|url=https://www.economist.com/asia/2020/02/26/donald-trump-and-narendra-modi-hug-as-delhi-burns|newspaper=[[The Economist]]|date=26 February 2020|quote=Both sides soon resorted to shooting; most of the fatalities, which included two policemen, were caused by gunfire... The police, which in Delhi are controlled by the central government, only deployed in strength on February 26th. On the orders of a court, they also began registering complaints of incitement. Mr Modi's national-security adviser toured affected districts, giving his 'word of honour' that residents could feel safe. The prime minister himself, after three days of silence, belatedly tweeted a plea for calm.}}</ref> By 25 February 2020, the balance had shifted.<ref name=nytimes-2020-3-12-1/> Rioters wearing helmets and carrying sticks, stones, swords or pistols, and the saffron flags of [[Hindu nationalism]] entered Muslim neighbourhoods, as the police stood by.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Landrin|first1=Sophie|title=Inde : New Delhi en proie à de violents conflits intercommunautaires|date=26 February 2020|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2020/02/26/inde-new-delhi-en-proie-a-de-violents-conflits-intercommunautaires_6030862_3210.html|trans-title=India: New Delhi plagued by violent inter-community conflicts|work=Le Monde|language=fr|quote=Des hordes d’émeutiers casqués, armés de bâtons, de pierres, de sabres ou de pistolets, portant des drapeaux safran – la couleur des nationalistes hindous – ont pris d’assaut cette zone. Des véhicules, des échoppes, ainsi que des maisons appartenant à des musulmans, ont été incendiés sous les yeux d’une police totalement passive. (Hordes of helmeted rioters, armed with sticks, stones, sabers or pistols, carrying saffron flags – the color of Hindu nationalists – stormed this area. Vehicles, stalls, as well as houses belonging to Muslims, were set on fire in front of a totally passive police force.)|access-date=4 March 2020}}</ref><ref name=nytimes-2020-3-12-2>{{citation|title='If We Kill You, Nothing Will Happen': How Delhi's Police Turned Against Muslims|first1=Jeffrey |last1=Gettleman|first2=Sameer|last2=Yasir|first3=Suhasini |last3=Raj|first4=Hari|last4=Kumar|others=Photographs by Loke, Atul|date=12 March 2020|access-date=13 March 2020|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/12/world/asia/india-police-muslims.html|quote= Hindu mobs fanned out and targeted Muslim families. Violence crackled in the air. Police officers watched as mobs of Hindus, their foreheads marked by saffron stripes, prowled the streets with baseball bats and rusty bars, looking for Muslims to kill. The sky was filled with smoke. Muslim homes, shops and mosques were burned down.}}</ref> Chants were heard of "''[[Jai Shri Ram]]''" ("Victory to [[Rama|Lord Rama]]"), a religious slogan favoured by prime minister [[Narendra Modi]]'s party.<ref name="wapo-3-2-20-slater-1"/> In the neighbourhood of Shiv Vihar, Hindu rioters attacked Muslim houses and businesses for three days, often firebombing them with [[fuel gas|cooking gas cylinder]]s and gutting them without resistance from the police.<ref name=guardian-3-6-20-3>{{citation|title='I cannot find my father's body': Delhi's fearful Muslims mourn riot dead|last1=Ellis-Peterson|first1=Hannah|last2=Azizur Rahman|first2= Shaikh|location=Delhi|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/06/how-can-i-go-back-delhi-fearful-muslims-mourn-riot-dead|date=6 March 2020|access-date=7 March 2020|quote= In Shiv Vihar, from where they and many others had escaped, almost every Muslim home lay in blackened ruins, and two mosques looked like bomb sites. For three days, Hindu rioters attacked Shiv Vihar's Muslim localities and ran mayhem without any resistance from police. The mobs repeatedly used gas canisters as weapons, setting them alight and exploding them in Muslim properties so that the walls crumbled entirely.}}</ref> In some instances, Muslims countered perceived threats by returning the violence; on the 25th a Muslim mob approached a Hindu neighbourhood throwing stones and [[Molotov cocktails]] and firing guns.<ref name="wapo-3-2-20-slater-2">{{citation|last1=Slater|first1=Joanna|last2=Masih|first2=Niha|date=2 March 2020|title=What Delhi's worst communal violence in decades means for Modi's India |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/what-days-of-communal-violence-mean-for-modi-and-for-india/2020/03/01/3d649c18-5a68-11ea-8efd-0f904bdd8057_story.html |access-date=15 March 2020|quote=In the riots that swept northeastern Delhi, Muslims mobilized to counter perceived threats and clashed with Hindus. A two-lane road separates Muslim-dominated Mustafabad from Hindu-dominated Bhagirathi Vihar. Hindus say a large mob approached from the Muslim side Tuesday night, throwing stones and Molotov cocktails and firing guns. 'It became difficult to save our lives,' said Yogesh Kumar, 24, an accountant. 'When the fire spreads, everything gets torched,' Sanjay Kumar, 40, said bitterly as he looked around at the destroyed storefronts and burned facades along a lane leading from the main road. He blamed Kapil Mishra, the BJP leader who issued the original threat to protesters who mounted a sit-in.}}</ref> During this time, stories were also told of Sikh and Hindu families coming to the aid of besieged Muslims;<ref name="guardian-3-1-20-sikh-hindu">{{citation|title=Inside Delhi: beaten, lynched and burnt alive|last1=Ellis-Peterson|first1=Hannah|location=Delhi|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/01/india-delhi-after-hindu-mob-riot-religious-hatred-nationalists|date=1 March 2020|access-date=27 March 2020|quote= But for all the tales of discord, dozens of accounts were also given to the ''Observer'' of how Sikh and Hindu families helped save their Muslim neighbours, sheltering them in their homes as the violence broke out or helping them escape as the mobs descended.}}</ref> in some neighbourhoods, the religious communities cooperated in protecting themselves from violence.<ref name="Barton2020"/>

The [[2020 Delhi Legislative Assembly election|Delhi Legislative Assembly election]] was held on 8 February 2020, in which the [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] (BJP) was defeated by the [[Aam Aadmi Party]] (AAP); widespread usage of incendiary slogans by BJP equating the protesters to anti-national elements and asking for them to be shot were noted.{{efn|At a rally in Delhi, a [[Union Council of Ministers|Union Cabinet]] minister shouted {{transliteration|hi|''Desh ke ġaddāroṉ ko''}} ("What's to be done with the traitors to the nation?") and the crowd screamed back, {{transliteration|hi|''Goli māro sāloṉ ko''}} ("Shoot the bastards!").<ref>{{cite web |title=The Graveyard Talks Back |url=https://caravanmagazine.in/literature/arundhati-roy-the-graveyard-talks-back |work=Caravan Magazine |access-date=12 March 2020}}</ref>}} Delhi BJP chief, [[Manoj Tiwari (Delhi politician)|Manoj Tiwari]], has since attributed hate speeches by fellow party-candidate [[Kapil Mishra]] (who coined the slogans) as a cause of the BJP defeat.<ref name="NYTRoots">{{Cite news|last1=Gettleman|first1=Jeffrey|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/26/world/asia/delhi-riots-kapil-mishra.html|title=The Roots of the Delhi Riots: A Fiery Speech and an Ultimatum|date=26 February 2020|work=The New York Times|access-date=5 March 2020|last2=Raj|first2=Suhasini|issn=0362-4331|last3=Yasir|first3=Sameer}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/hate-speech-cost-bjp-delhi-elections-people-like-kapil-mishra-should-be-removed-manoj-tiwari-1649227-2020-02-23|title=Hate speech cost BJP Delhi elections, people like Kapil Mishra should be removed: Manoj Tiwari|date=23 February 2020|website=India Today|access-date=5 March 2020}}</ref>

On 23 February between 3.30{{nbsp}}p.m. and 4{{nbsp}}p.m., BJP leader [[Kapil Mishra]] and his supporters reached a protest site at Maujpur Chowk "to give an answer to Jaffrabad [blockade]".<ref name="NDTV1" /> Mishra then spoke out in a rally against the CAA protesters{{efn|Previously, on 17 December 2019, violence occurred during the CAA-protests in the Seelampur area, in North East Delhi. On 3 January 2020, DCP Surya told media that adequate security personnel and proper security arrangements were in place in the Seelampur area and no further gatherings and violence were expected.<ref>{{cite news |title=No gathering expected, adequate security deployed in Seelampur: DCP Ved Prakash |url=https://www.aninews.in/news/national/general-news/no-gathering-expected-adequate-security-deployed-in-seelampur-dcp-ved-prakash20200103131121/ |access-date=25 February 2020 |work=[[Asian News International]] (ANI) |date=3 January 2020}}</ref>}} and threatened to take matters into his own hands if the police failed to disperse the protesters from the Jaffrabad and Chand Bagh areas in three days' time.<ref name="Mishra DNA 2">{{cite news|url=https://www.dnaindia.com/delhi/report-two-complaints-filed-against-bjp-leader-kapil-mishra-for-inciting-violence-in-north-east-delhi-2814932|title=Two complaints filed against BJP leader Kapil Mishra for inciting violence in North-East Delhi|date=25 February 2020|work=DNA India|access-date=25 February 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/kapil-mishra-warns-cops-clear-road-in-3-days-after-that-we-won-t-listen-to-you/story-Ppd9qPXknizVMsaLsFIFTI.html|title=Kapil Mishra warns cops: Clear road in 3 days... after that we won't listen to you'|date=24 February 2020|work=Hindustan Times|access-date=25 February 2020}}</ref><ref name="Gambhir 25 Feb">{{cite news|url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/delhi-violence-gautam-gambhir-says-kapil-mishras-speech-unacceptable-2185318|title="Kapil Mishra's Speech Unacceptable": BJP's Gautam Gambhir On Delhi Violence|date=25 February 2020|work=NDTV.com|access-date=26 February 2020}}</ref> This has been widely reported to be the major inciting factor;<ref name="NYTRoots" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/delhi-violence-caa-protest-death-toll-kapil-mishra-communal-clash-6286950/|title=Divided in violence, united in grief: Families of dead say hate is to blame|date=26 February 2020|work=The Indian Express|access-date=27 February 2020}}</ref> however, Mishra rejects the allegations.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/defiant-bjp-leader-kapil-mishra-says-did-not-commit-crime-by-supporting-caa/article30920351.ece|title=Delhi violence: Defiant BJP leader Kapil Mishra says did not commit crime by supporting CAA|date=26 February 2020|work=The Hindu|access-date=26 February 2020|othersagency=PTI|issn=0971-751X}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=August 2020}}

* {{Cite web|title=AAP Councillor Refutes Allegations on IB Staffer's Killing, Had Tweeted SOS to Police|url=https://thewire.in/communalism/tahir-hussain-aap-ankit-sharma-killing|access-date=5 March 2020|website=The Wire|quote=Ankit, who was a security assistant in the IB and was undergoing training as a driver ... had joined the IB as a probationer in 2017.}}</ref> The circumstances leading to his death are under investigation,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/intelligence-bureau-officer-ankit-sharma-found-dead-in-chand-bagh-in-northeast-delhi-hit-by-violence-2185946|title=Body Of Intelligence Officer Killed in Delhi Clashes Found in Drain|website=NDTV.com|date=26 February 2020|access-date=26 February 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/india-news-delhi-riots-intelligence-officer-killed-body-found-in-drain-in-chand-bagh-area/347883|title=Delhi Riots: Intelligence Bureau Employee Killed, Body Found In Drain In Chand Bagh Area|website=Outlook India|date=26 February 2020|access-date=26 February 2020}}</ref> with a lot of confusion regarding them.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newslaundry.com/2020/03/05/did-the-media-spotlight-on-ankit-sharma-shed-clarity-on-his-murder-no|title=Did the media spotlight on Ankit Sharma shed clarity on his murder? No|website=Newslaundry|date=5 March 2020|first1=Ayush|last1=Tiwari|access-date=6 March 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last1=Roy|first1=Krishna Pokharel, Vibhuti Agarwal and Rajesh|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/indias-ruling-party-government-slammed-over-delhi-violence-11582734524|title=India's Ruling Party, Government Slammed Over Delhi Violence|date=26 February 2020|work=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=6 March 2020|issn=0099-9660}}</ref> According to a [[autopsy|post-mortem]] report, he was repeatedly stabbed, leading to his death.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/india-news-ib-operative-ankit-sharma-brutally-stabbed-to-death-post-mortem-report/347976|title=Delhi Riots: IB Operative Ankit Sharma Brutally And Repeatedly Stabbed To Death, Says Post-Mortem Report|website=Outlook India|date=28 February 2020|access-date=1 March 2020}}</ref> [[Tahir Hussain (activist)|Tahir Hussain]], who was an AAP councillor, was arrested for allegedly murdering Sharma.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Khan |first1=Fatima |title=Tahir Hussain—the AAP councillor who faces murder charge now has left Chand Bagh divided |url=https://theprint.in/india/tahir-hussain-the-aap-councillor-who-faces-murder-charge-now-has-left-chand-bagh-divided/373222/ |access-date=1 March 2020 |work=ThePrint |date=29 February 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Tahir Hussain Charged With Murder in Delhi Violence, Suspended By AAP |url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/delhi-violence-case-filed-against-aaps-tahir-hussain-for-murder-arson-2186844 |access-date=1 March 2020 |work=NDTV.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/accused-in-ib-staffer-s-killing-tahir-hussain-arrested-from-court/story-24Y6qkMVa1sfLc4vhLZZFP.html|title=Tahir Hussain, suspect in IB staffer's murder arrested, toll in Delhi riots rises to 53|date=5 March 2020|website=Hindustan Times|access-date=9 March 2020}}</ref>

Both Hindus and Muslims comforted one another and mourned the loss of their kin who were killed by the rioters.<ref name="Kuchay2020">{{cite web|title='We lost a brother': Hindu, Muslim families in Delhi share grief|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/02/lost-brother-hindu-muslim-families-delhi-share-grief-200227051613459.html|last1=Kuchay|first1=Bilal|date=27 February 2020|publisher=[[Al Jazeera English|Al Jazeera]]|access-date=19 March 2020}}</ref>

A video shared on social media on 26 February showed a group of men being assaulted by the police as they lay on the ground, forcibly singing the [[national anthem of India]] and "[[Vande Mataram]]" on the demands of the policemen.<ref>{{citation|title='If We Kill You, Nothing Will Happen': How Delhi's Police Turned Against Muslims|first1=Jeffrey |last1=Gettleman|first2=Sameer|last2=Yasir|first3=Suhasini |last3=Raj|first4=Hari|last4=Kumar|others=Photographs by Loke, Atul|date=12 March 2020|access-date=13 March 2020|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/12/world/asia/india-police-muslims.html}}</ref> The families of the men claimed that they were detained in the lockup for two days and beaten further. One of them, Mohammad Faizan,<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Ellis-Petersen|first1=Hannah|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/16/delhis-muslims-despair-justice-police-implicated-hindu-riots|title=Delhi's Muslims despair of justice after police implicated in riots|date=16 March 2020|work=The Guardian|access-date=22 March 2020|last2=Rahman|first2=Shaikh Azizur|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> was admitted in the neurosurgery wing of [[LNJP Hospital]] and died on 29 February from critical gunshot wounds. Another was reported to have suffered serious injuries.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/india-news-delhi-riots-one-of-five-injured-men-made-to-sing-anthem-in-video-dies/348035|title=Delhi Riots: One Of Five Injured Men, Made To Sing National Anthem In Video, Dies|website=Outlook India|date=29 February 2020 |access-date=1 March 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/delhi-violence-video-national-anthem-6291881/|title=Delhi violence: Video showed men being made to sing anthem, one is now dead|date=29 February 2020|website=The Indian Express|first1=Somya|last1=Lakhani|access-date=1 March 2020}}</ref>

On 25 February the [[Chief Minister of Delhi]], [[Arvind Kejriwal]] stated that the Delhi Police, despite its efforts, had been unable to control the violence and requested the [[Indian army|Army]]'s assistance in stopping the violence as the number of deaths climbed to 23.<ref name="BBC23killed"/><ref name="Hindu Live 26Feb">{{cite news |title=Register FIRs against hate speeches, HC directs Delhi Police |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/delhi-violence-day-4-live-updates/article30919537.ece |access-date=26 February 2020 |work=The Hindu |date=26 February 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Delhi violence: Police unable to control situation, time to call in Army, says CM Kejriwal |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/delhi-violence-police-unable-to-control-situation-time-to-call-in-army-says-cm-kejriwal-1650088-2020-02-26 |website=India Today|date=26 February 2020 }}</ref>

Food and other relief materials were distributed with the help of [[resident welfare association]]s and NGOs.<ref name="TH_compensation">{{cite news |title=Government to start distributing ₹25,000 to victims of violence |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/government-to-start-distributing-25000-to-victims-of-violence/article30946782.ece |access-date=1 March 2020 |work=The Hindu |date=29 February 2020 }}</ref> BJP leaders [[Tajinder Bagga]] and Kapil Mishra collected {{INRConvert|7.1|m}} for the Hindu victims of Delhi riots via crowdfunding.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theweek.in/news/india/2020/03/02/delhi-violence-kapil-mishra-bagga-crowdfund-over-rs-71-lakh-for-hindu-victims.html|title=Delhi violence: Kapil Mishra, Bagga crowdfund over Rs 71 lakh for Hindu victims|website=The Week|access-date=3 March 2020}}</ref>

In 2021, Mohd Wasim, Mohd Ayaz, Khalid, and an unnamed womanKhalid were arrested for involvement in the murder of Delhi Police head constable Ratan Lal. A man named Munjtajim was arrested for Intelligence Bureau officer Ankit Sharma's death.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Quint |first=The |date=2023-06-21 |title=Delhi Riots 2020: Police Arrest Accused in Head Constable Ratan Lal's Murder |url=https://www.thequint.com/news/india/delhi-riots-2020-head-constable-ratan-lal-murder-accused-arrested |access-date=2023-08-12 |website=TheQuint |language=en}}</ref> In 2022, an unnammed woman and a man named Munjtajim was arrested for Ratan Lal and Intelligence Bureau officer Ankit Sharma's murder respectively.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Quint |first=The |date=2022-10-15 |title=Delhi Riots: Woman Accused in Constable Ratan Lal's Murder Arrested from Noida |url=https://www.thequint.com/news/delhi-riots-accused-woman-head-constable-ratan-lal-arrest |access-date=2023-08-12 |website=TheQuint |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-10-12 |title=IB staffer Ankit Sharma’s murder during Delhi riots: Over 2 yrs on, key accused held; visit to chemist gave him away |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/delhi-riots-ankit-sharma-ib-officer-northeast-delhi-riots-8204994/ |access-date=2024-08-30 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref>

On 27 February, the court resumed the hearing with a new bench consisting of [[Chief Justice of India]] [[Dhirubhai Naranbhai Patel|D.N. Patel]] and Justice C. Hari Shankar. During the previous hearing, the Delhi police were given 24 hours to decide on the filing of FIRs over hate speeches by four BJP leaders. The government's lawyer claimed that the situation was not "conducive" and that the government needed more time before it could take appropriate action. The new bench accepted the same arguments that the previous bench had rejected and agreed to give the government more time to decide on filing of the cases for hate speech.<ref name="livelawChange">{{cite news |publisher=LiveLaw News Network |title=Delhi Riots Case Hearing : How Things Changed in a Day With Change Of Bench? |url=https://www.livelaw.in/top-stories/delhi-riots-case-hearing-how-things-changed-in-a-day-with-change-of-bench-153214 |access-date=27 February 2020 |date=27 February 2020 }}</ref> The petitioners' lawyer requested an earlier hearing, citing the increasing number of deaths, but the court set 13 April as the date of the next hearing.<ref name="WireHCAccepts">{{cite news |title=Delhi HC Accepts Centre's Logic, Gives 4 Weeks to Respond to Plea Seeking Hate Speech FIR |url=https://thewire.in/law/delhi-high-court-hate-speech |access-date=27 February 2020 |work=The Wire |date=27 February 2020}}</ref>

In the aftermath of the riots, many Muslims who had been living in the riot-affected neighbourhoods left with all their belongings.<ref name="NYTimes-Analysis-March1" /> Even in areas of Delhi which were not affected by the violence, many Muslim families packed up their belongings and left for their ancestral villages, showing no intention of ever coming back.<ref name="guardian-3-6-20" /> According to complaints received by lawyers representing Muslim victims of the riots, the police had threatened to falsely implicate the victims in police cases if they filed any complaints against the rioters.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Ellis-Petersen|first1=Hannah|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/16/delhis-muslims-despair-justice-police-implicated-hindu-riots|title=Delhi's Muslims despair of justice after police implicated in riots|date=16 March 2020|work=The Guardian|access-date=22 March 2020|last2=Rahman|first2=Shaikh Azizur|issn=0261-3077|quote=Police are using pressure tactics and trying to ensure that no complaint is filed against the rioters. We have received hundreds of complaints from Muslim people that police are threatening people, including women and children, that if they filed complaints, they would be implicated in false cases.}}</ref> {{As of|2020|10}}, many Muslim survivors of the riots reported harassment and humiliation within their immediate neighbourhoods and many even started selling their properties below the market price so as escape from this ordeal.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Aswani |first1=Tarushi |title=Muslims in Northeast Delhi Sell Homes Below Market Rate to Escape 'Continuing Harassment' |url=https://thewire.in/communalism/muslims-northeast-delhi-sell-homes-harassment-riots |website=[[The Wire (India)|The Wire]] |publisher=The Wire |access-date=31 October 2020}}</ref> According to Zafarul Islam Khan, former chairman of the Delhi Minorities Commission, 1,300 Muslim youth have been arrested since the riots began and pressure has been constantly mounted on the Delhi police to create a fabricated narrative that these youths started the riots.<ref>{{cite web |title='Delhi police arresting Muslims on fabricated charges' |url=https://www.rediff.com/news/interview/delhi-police-arresting-muslims-on-fabricated-charges/20200831.htm |website=[[Rediff.com]] |publisher=Rediff |access-date=31 October 2020}}</ref> The Special Commissioner of Police (Crime) had written in an order dated 8 July to senior officers heading probe teams and asked them to “suitably” guide the Investigating Officers to note that the arrests of “some Hindu youth” from riot-hit areas in Northeast Delhi has led to a “degree of resentment among the Hindu community” and “due care and precaution” must be taken while making such arrests.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Manral |first1=Mahender Singh |title=Resentment in Hindus on arrests, take care: Special CP to probe teams |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/hindu-resentment-north-east-delhi-riots-special-cp-6506063/ |website=[[The Indian Express]] (TIE) |date=16 July 2020 |publisher=TIE |access-date=31 October 2020}}</ref> This was despite the fact that the Delhi Police Crime Branch investigations into the murder of nine Muslims at and around Bhagirathi Vihar in North-East Delhi on 25 and 26 February had led to a WhatsApp group named "Kattar Hindu Ekta", which was created to mobilise rioters. The investigators had filed three chargesheets in connection with three of the murder cases and nine people were chargesheeted.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Anwar |first1=Tarique |title=Delhi Violence: How 'Kattar Hindu Ekta' WhatsApp Group Mobilised Rioters for Killings |url=https://www.newsclick.in/Delhi-Violence-Kattar-Hindu-Ekta-WhatsApp-Group-Mobilised-Rioters-Killings |website=News Click |date=10 July 2020 |publisher=News Click |access-date=31 October 2020}}</ref> According to Hisham ul wahab,{{Who|date=March 2023}} "it has been a pattern in almost all the anti-Muslim violence in India that to call it “communal riots” in order to avoid the supposed blame over the perpetrators from the Hindu fold as well as to narrate it in a balanced/neutral way as both the communities involved in it are occupying equal and parallel power. However, an assessment of such a narrative with the help of various reports including the Sachar Committee report would be sufficient to explore the historical disparity and discrimination against the Muslim community in terms of socio-political-economic and educational parameters".<ref name="Wahab2020">{{Cite web|last=Wahab|first=P. Hisham ul|date=25 October 2020|title=A War of Narratives: Understanding 2020 Delhi Violence in India|url=http://southasiajournal.net/a-war-of-narratives-understanding-2020-delhi-violence-in-india/|access-date=27 October 2020|website=South Asia Journal|language=en-US}}</ref>

Hindus and businesses run by them in the riot-affected areas began boycotting traders and refused to hire workers who were Muslims. They alleged that the Muslims had started the riots and had then blamed the Hindus for the violence. As a result of the growing distrust between the two communities in these areas, the Hindus and Muslims would avoid each other during the day and block the lanes to their respective neighbourhoods with barriers at night. Neighbourhoods of both communities put up metal gates to slow down the passage of rioters in the future, with some keeping themselves permanently armed with wooden ''[[Baton (law enforcement)#Indian subcontinent|lathis]]'' (batonsbamboo sticks).<ref name=reuters-jain-ahmed-2020-3-16 />

* ''Delhi Riots 2020: Report from Ground Zero – The Shaheen Bagh Model in North-East Delhi: From Dharna to Danga'', was submitted on March 11, March 2020, by the ''Group of Intellectuals and Academicians (GIA)'' led by [[Supreme Court of India|Supreme Court]] advocate Monika Arora. This report suggests that the violence was attributed to an "Urban-[[Naxalite–Maoist insurgency|Naxal]]-[[Jihadism|Jihadi]] network" and portrays the events as a pre-planned outcome of a radicalized minority.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Delhi Riots 2020: A Critique of Two Purported Fact-Finding Reports |url=https://thewire.in/communalism/delhi-riots-2020-a-critique-of-two-purported-fact-finding-reports |access-date=2023-08-10 |website=The Wire}}</ref>

* ''Delhi Riots: Conspiracy Unraveled'', submitted on May 29, May 2020, by the ''Call for Justice (CFJ)'' group, led by Justice Ambadas Joshi, a retired judge of the [[Bombay High Court]], asserts that "Anti-National, [[extremist Islamic]] groups and other radical groups" deliberately carried out targeted attacks on the [[Hindus|Hindu]] community. This report alleges meticulous planning and coordination behind the violence.<ref name=":0" />

In August 2020, a book titled ''[[Delhi Riots 2020: The Untold Story]]'' by advocate Monika Arora and academics Sonali Chitalkar and Prerna Malhotra was scheduled to be published by Bloomsbury India, which however withdrew the book after facing criticism from other writers and activists.<ref>{{Cite news|othersagency=PTI|date=23 August 2020|title=Bloomsbury says it won't publish book on Delhi riots after social media backlash|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/books/bloomsbury-says-it-wont-publish-book-on-delhi-riots-after-social-media-backlash/article32420501.ece|access-date=27 August 2020|issn=0971-751X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Ajmal|first=Anam|date=23 August 2020|title=After social media rage, book on 2020 Delhi riots withdrawn|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/bloomsbury-withdraws-book-on-delhi-riots/articleshow/77699040.cms|access-date=27 August 2020|website=The Times of India|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=24 August 2020|title=Does Bloomsbury's decision to withdraw book on Delhi riots undermine free speech? A debate ensues|url=https://scroll.in/article/971184/does-bloomsburys-decision-to-withdraw-book-on-delhi-riots-undermine-free-speech-a-debate-ensues|access-date=27 August 2020|website=[[Scroll.in]]|language=en-US}}</ref> The new publishers ''Garuda Prakashan'' said that by 24 August, they had received 15,000 pre-orders.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Agrawal|first=Soniya|date=24 August 2020|title=Publisher Garuda gets over 15k pre-orders in a day for Delhi riots book Bloomsbury cancelled|url=https://theprint.in/india/publisher-garuda-gets-over-15k-pre-orders-in-a-day-for-delhi-riots-book-bloomsbury-cancelled/488507/|access-date=27 August 2020|website=ThePrint|language=en-US}}</ref>

[[Category:Anti-Muslim violenceriots in India]]

[[Category:Arson in the 2020s2020]]

[[Category:AttacksMosque on religious buildings and structuresbombings in India]]

[[Category:CrimeMurder in Delhi|2020 Delhi riots]]

[[Category:Massacres21st-century mass murder in India]]

[[Category:Religious riots in India]]

[[Category:RiotsHinduism-motivated and civil disorderviolence in India]]

[[Category:Persecution byof Hindus by Muslims]]

[[Category:PersecutionAnti-Hindu ofviolence Muslimsin India]]

[[Category:PersecutionPolice bymisconduct Muslimsin India]]

[[Category:Violence against HindusArson in India]]