Minority panel report on Delhi riots biased: Centre

NEW DELHI: The Centre has informed the Delhi high court in an affidavit that the report by a fact-finding committee of the Delhi Minorities Commission (DMC) on the northeast Delhi riots has the “potential to create communally-charged environment”.
“A perusal of the DMC report would reveal the tone and tenor is writ at large with bias, pre-mediated conclusions, irresponsible statements, unverified findings which have the potential to create a communally-charged environment.A perusal of the preface of the report itself gives the flavour,” said the affidavit submitted by the home ministry last year. The Centre’s affidavit was filed in response to a petition filed by Dharmesh Sharma, a practising advocate, who has been a victim of the riots in which his property was damaged. He challenged the report of the DMC requesting to quash and set aside the report dated June 27, 2020.
The affidavit stated that the findings on the riots in reports, including the DMC report, by private organisations and extra-judicial commissions, have tried to put a biased and selective narrative “to sway public opinion in favour of a particular community”.
“The reports have completely ignored the fact that Delhi Police acted in a fair and impartial manner and that more than 750 FIRs were registered and 3 SITs of the crime branch were constituted for ensuring fair and impartial investigation of cases. The reports also failed to appreciate that the police acted swiftly and promptly to the best of its capacity and resources to control law and order in the area and to protect life and property of the people,” said the affidavit.
The affidavit stated that the DMC report was silent on the comments of Umar Khalid in which he “incited the public to take to the streets during the visit of the President of the United States, as well as is silent on the comments of Sharjeel Imam, who threatened to cut off the northeast from the rest of India”.