DU professor Apoorvanand questioned by police for Delhi riots, phone seized

In a disturbing trend, Delhi University professor Apoorvanand was questioned by the Delhi Police on Monday in connection with the pogrom in North-East Delhi in February. He was called for investigation under the FIR no 59/20, which is the one under which several the students who protested the National Register of Citizens and Citizenship Amendment Act were summoned under.

Apoorvanand was at the Delhi Police Special Cell’s office for five hours and his phone was seized for investigation. In a statement released after his interrogation by Delhi Police, the professor said the Delhi Police should not further harass and victimise protestors and their supporters, who asserted their democratic right through constitutional means.

“I was asked by the Special Cell, Delhi Police, to appear before it in the investigation into FIR no 59/20 related to the violence that happened in North-East Delhi in February 2020. I spent five hours there. The Delhi Police also considered it necessary to seize my phone for the purpose of investigation,” said the professor, who teaches Hindi at Delhi University.

The professor said while cooperating and respecting the right of police authorities to conduct a full, fair and thorough investigation, “one can only hope that the probe would focus on the real instigators and perpetrators of the violence against a peaceful citizens' protest and the people of Northeast Delhi”.

“It is disturbing to see a theory emerging which treats the supporters of the protestors as the source of violence. I would urge the police and expect their probe to be thorough, just and fair so that truth prevails,” underscored Apoorvanand.

The professor has always been advocating for freedom of speech, the right to protest, human rights, and the discriminatory nature of the NRC and CAA.