Delhi Police chargesheet furthering agenda to discredit anti-CAA protesters: Apoorvanand

After it was revealed that the Delhi Police has included Delhi University Professor Apoorvanand’s name in the supplementary chargesheet (CS), the professor stated that the supplementary CS did not improve upon the legal case, but only seemed to be furthering the political agenda of discrediting the protestors.

According to the chargesheet in FIR 50/20, the police claimed that women’s collective Pinjra Tod members and JNU students Devangana Kalita and Natasha Narwal, and Gulfisha Fathima of Jamia Milia Islamia had named him in their confessions. All three are facing charges under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

he Delhi Police has claimed that Kalita and Narwal admitted to not just their complicity in the riots but also named JNU Professor Jayati Ghosh, Apoorvanand and documentary filmmaker Rahul Roy as their mentors who allegedly asked them to carry out the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act and go to “any extreme”.

“It has been brought to my notice that a supplementary chargesheet filed in connection with FIR 50/2020 has certain disclosure statements by accused in custody, that mention my name, together with that of Rahul Roy, Umar Khalid, Jayati Ghosh, Sitaram Yechury and Yogendra Yadav. These names are mentioned in uncorroborated statements attributed to the accused who are in custody, where it is claimed that they provided support in organising the anti-CAA protests,” highlighted Apoorvanand.

“The supplementary CS proclaims that the accused persons were 'continuously poisoning the minds of common people against the CAA/ NRC.' This is the government's political position; surprisingly being parroted in the supplementary CS as a legal offence,” said Apoorvanand in a statement.

Although FIR 50/2020 was registered in connection with the death, from gunshot injury, of one Amaan, the investigation seems to have focussed on deligitimising the protests and in trying to make the protestors indirectly responsible for Amaan's death, pointed out Apoorvanand.

“While I am not made accused, it is very surprising that the police should even accuse three young women, without any basis, of having murdered a 17-year-old boy, Amaan. It would seem that the accused women are not directly linked to the murder, but the allegation is that they instigated some unknown shooter. The investigation has not revealed who shot at Amaan, but it insists that whoever it was, was instigated by the anti-CAA stance of the accused individuals,” explained the DU professor.

It is also pertinent that on September 1, the Delhi High Court, while hearing a bail application by Devangana Kalita, has categorically held that the police has not been able to give any evidence of any incendiary speech by her. The court also said that the statements of the witnesses were produced belatedly, as an afterthought by the police.

“Their act of having planned a protest is being treated as a conspiracy to violence, in which me, along with others, are projected as having abetted that cause, without any basis in law or facts. We are still waiting for the Delhi Police to start investigation to find out the truth behind the actual act of the February violence. It needs to stop its exercise of criminalising the anti CAA protests which were perfectly legitimate act of citizenship,” added Apoorvanand, who was a member of the national Focus Group on Teaching of Indian Languages formed by the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT).

On August 3, Apoorvanand was questioned by the Delhi Police in connection with the riots in north-east Delhi. The professor said that his phone was seized and he was made to sit with the police for five hours.