He’s been Delhi’s law minister for only a handful of weeks and trouble is already brewing for BJP’s Kapil Mishra.
Earlier today, the Rouse Avenue court in Delhi directed that an FIR be registered against Mishra and others, and that “further investigation” be conducted on his role in the 2020 Delhi riots.
According to NDTV, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Vaibhav Chaurasia said there’s “prima facie” evidence of a “cognisable offence” against Mishra, and that “it is clear that Mishra was in the area at the time of the alleged offence”. The court’s decision also applies to five others including three BJP leaders: Mustafabad MLA Mohan Singh Bisht and former MLAs Jagdish Pradhan and Satpal Sansad.
The court was hearing a plea filed by a man named Mohammed Ilyas, who lives in Yamuna Vihar. According to Hindustan Times, Ilyas claimed to have seen Mishra and others blocking a road during the riots, and “destroying” carts. The court’s decision is despite the Delhi police insisting its investigation revealed a “conspiracy” to frame Mishra in the riots case.
Newslaundry meticulously investigated the Delhi riots and their aftermath. Mishra featured on our list of all the politicians taken to court for hate speech at the time, with stalwarts like Anurag Thakur, Yogi Adityanath and Sambit Patra keeping him company.
Months after the riots, Mishra put out a call on social media for people to join his ‘Hindu ecosystem’ team. We signed up, and hung out in his Telegram group to investigate his network of hate – and spam. Read our story here.
The Delhi police says Mishra is being framed. But what do you do when you lose faith in the force that is supposed to protect you? This is what we’ll investigate in our new Sena series. Click here for more. And click here to support our work.
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