Delhi violence: What happened in Khureji Khas?

1. Khureji Crackdown Fact Finding Report
By
Lawyers Against Atrocities
Date of Visit: 29th February 2020
Team: Ashutosh, Harjot, Harshita, Nasir and Rahul
Brief Overview of the Situation in Khureji Khas
Since the 14thof January 2020, Khureji Khas in North East Delhi has witnessed peaceful protests
against the divisive Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Registry of Citizens (NRC) and
the National Population Register (NPR). The people of the locality, especially women,had been
congregating day and night at an open site adjacent the Hindustan Petroleum pump on the
Patparganj Road. On the 23rdof February 2020, responding to the Bhim Army’s call for a Bharat
Bandh, the people of Khureji Khas conducted a sit-in protest on the Patparganj Road. On request
from police officials to allow for the flow of vehicular traffic, the protesters complied by first
allowing road access to the nearby Vivekananda Yogashram, then vacating half the road by the
night of 23rd February and finally the entire road by noon of the following day. Despite returning
to the protest site to continue the peaceful protest, heavy police deployment continued in
Khureji Khas. On Monday and Tuesday (24th and 25th of February), the Delhi Police were a
constant presence at the protest site. Lining the roads, the police intimidated protestors,
especially women. Suddenly without provocation, on the morning of 26th February 2020, the
police personnel, many of whom did not bear their name tag, stormed into the protest site
brandishing and discharging firearms and proceeded to evict the protestors, beating and
injuring several in the process. It is reported that during this process, the police were seen
destroying CCTV cameras, notably the one in front of the Hindustan Petroleum Pump. The police
arrested several protestors, from the protest site and from their homes including Ishrat Jahan,
Khalid Saifi, Mohammed Salim, Vikram Pratap, Salim Ansari and Sabhu Ansari among others
taking them to the Jagatpuri Police Station. While conducting raids in the locality, police are
reported to have discharged their weapons twice at the entrance of the Jama Masjid Road. That
evening, when lawyers arrived at Jagatpuri Police Station to enquire about the arrested, the
police were verbally and physically abusive towards them. More arrests are reported to have
occurred on the night of 26th January 2020 and then over the next two days, with police raiding
homes of numerous residents and arbitrarily picking up people, including several minors, from
the streets.
Purpose of the Fact Finding
As news reports of targeted violence in North East Delhi including killings, destruction and
torching of homes and shops of Muslims, desecration of mosques and shrines and the
conspicuous inaction by the police personnel started to reach, little news of police atrocities in
Khureji Khas, a locality South of the worst affected areas, emerged. This has left residents of
Khureji Khas feeling isolated as they struggle to come to terms with the swellingsense of terror,
the arrests of several residents and finally the unknown number of people missing from the
area since the 23rd of February.They continue to remain in fear of further police crackdowns on

2. one side and the threat of violent right-wingmobs on the other. A team of lawyers and students
was put together by Lawyers Against Atrocities in order to speak to the residents, document
their experience and make sense of the events following the crackdown on the peaceful protest
in Khureji.
Family of Mohammed Salim
Mohammed Salim, a small-scale textile merchant,is the sole breadwinner of a family of nine. His
children areall minors. At 6pm on 26th February 2020, around 100 police personnel came to the
Choupal in Khureji where he resides to arrest him. Picked up from the porch of his house, he
was led to the police jeep with his hands fastened behind his back, then taken to Jagatpuri Police
Station and later transferred to Mandoli Jail. Incidentally, his name does not appear in the FIR.
Since the beginning of the protests in Khureji, Mohammed Salim and his family have been
frequenting the protest site. Shehroon, Mohammad Salim’s wife, had beenbuilding support
among women of Khureji for the protest. After his arrest, with several young children and no
source of income, she is distraught. She felt that he was arrested because he upheld democratic
rights for all and struggled for a secular country. She said, “(w)e have all the documents, we
won’t suffer during the NRC but many others will. My husband was protesting against what
would happen to them and now, they’ve arrested him.”The manner in which he was arrested,
with an unusuallylarge number of police personnel storming his home and without indicating
the charges against him, has further increased fear among the people.
With Mohammed Salim in jail, his family struggles to make ends meet. They are unsure how
they will be able to afford bail if it is granted.Despite this, Shehroon remains determined. When
asked whether she’s ready to return to the protests, she replied “until the government rolls back
the CAA, NRC and NPR, we have no choice but to protest and we will!” She believes the police is
terrorising the people of Khureji to ensure that the protests don’t resume again. “We aren’t
afraid of Hindus; we have no problem with any religion. Only the police scare us”. Shehroon’s
friend Rani remarked that police have been particularly targeting Shehroon after the arrest of
her husband.
Several women with Shehroon particularly spoke of police action, including firing in the air,
chasing women away from the protest site and misbehaving with them. The police deployed
appeared to target women wearing burkas, particularly filmed them and ignored the women
wearing sarees or those who looked “Hindu”. The women spoke of how the police turned into
monsters when clearing the protest site that day. They spoke of how RSS members had been
bringing tractors full of stones to the area. The police appeared to have taken no action against
them. They said that “Hindus and Muslims have been living peacefully together in Khureji. There
were no problems with other religions. But the police have targeted us (Muslims).” The women
are scared for the future of their young children. They want the young men and children
returned to them; they want their children safe.
Family of Aftab
Aftab, a seventeen-year-old minor, was arrested on the night of 27th February 2020 when he
had left his house to pay some of the family’s bills in the market. His father, Mohammed Yunis, is
a hawker who has never gone to the protests at Khureji. His wife however sporadically went to
the protest site. Mohammed Yunis remarked that the situation in Khureji became grave after
23rd February 2020. He said that his son has been picked up and charged under provisions of

3. the Arms Act for supposedly firing at police. The police claimed the firing happened at midday
between 12:30 and 1:30 pm, a time when their son was home with them.Now, Mohammad
Yunis refuses to allow his younger son, Afsar, to leave the house in fear that he too may be
arrested. Afsar’s board exams are less than two weeks away.He is unable to study for them
following his elder brother’s arrest as the mood in the house is downcast. His family repeatedly
and emphatically asked, “humara bachha kab niklega?” (when will our child be released?)
Family of Sabhu Ansari
Aged between 21-22, Sabhu was a volunteer at the protest site who was arrested when the
police raidedit on 26th February 2020. He had been sleeping at the time, having spent the entire
night awake at the protest. His elder brother Fareed said that Sabhu was employed at a car-seat
making shop and was earning for his family but had not been to work since the protests began.
He stated that the police have given no information regarding Sabhu’s arrest. They’ve received
news that Sabhu has faced physical torture under custody but they haven’t been able to meet
him. Meanwhile, Sabhu’s mother cries all day long following the arrest of her son. It is learnt
that he has now been taken to Tihar Jail but the family is unable to confirm this.
His family spoke out against the spreading of rumours and panic and the ways in which the local
police has been complicit in this. They said, “Afwah failaya gaya ki Bajrang Dal ke log aaye hai.
Phir log aur bhi darr gaye.” (Rumours were spread that Bajrang Dal members had come. And
people became even more afraid). Several neighbours blamed the local beat officer Yograj for
spreading fake news. They said, “Yograj ne darr ka mahaul banaya hai.” (Yograj has created a
climate of fear in the area.) They said that those taking videos on their phones were threatened
with guns.
Family of Vikram Pratap
Vikram, a 26-year-old 3rd year law student, was arrested from his house on 26th February 2020
at 8 pm. The police, however, have recorded the time of arrest as 1 pm. Working with United
Against Hate, Vikram Pratap was a volunteer at the protests. His MLC was done soon after arrest
and then he was then subjected to beatings by the police in custody. The local beat officer Yograj
humiliated Vikram’s father when he tried to meet his son. He told him that his DNA is bad and
that, “iska dharam parivartan kara do, isko Pakistan bhej do” (get him converted and send him
to Pakistan).
Family of Protestor
Shahana (NAME CHANGED), a mother of three whose grandfather died in the communal
violence post Partition, was a regular at the protest along with one of her daughters. She stated
that on 26th February 2020 the situation in Khureji took a turn for the worse. On that day at
around 2 pm, the police fired outside the entrance of the Jama Masjid road. Children aged
between the years 12 to 14 were picked up by the police and then eventually released later in
the day. Disputing the claims of the police, she said that there was no stone pelting that day.She
went on to say that the only firing done was by the police. Her family reiterated that many
children are missing and nobody knows if they are arrested or not. She asked why the police
used force even after the protesters had dispersed from the site.

4. Shahana was firm that to protest was the right of the people and also that their struggle was
just. She maintained that the protest was always peaceful and that even during the roadblock,
ambulances and emergency vehicles were allowed through. Remarking how the NRC would
target the poor, she noted the wide support for the protests, how Sikhs set up a langar and how
the Bhim Army also supported them. She found that the Hindus of the locality supported the
protests, particularly mentioning how the local doctor, Sharma Ji, would often visit the protests.
She asked why Kapil Mishra was still roaming free without consequences. When asked why
Shahana frequented the protests, her young daughterwho was in tears spoke up, “it is our
constitutional right to protest against an unconstitutional law.”
Family of Protestor
Fatima (NAME CHANGED), around 30-35 years old, spoke of the climate of fear that has spread
amongst the residents of Khureji. She said, “…dar hai, kis par bharosa karein, pata nahi.” She
spoke of how the arrested youth have been tortured in custody. The police did not allow the
family members to meet the arrested properly; the arrested were behind a glass wall and were
not allowed to meet their families face to face.
She said, “the people of Khureji have been together. Dr. Sharma and his wife used to come to the
protest site daily. Our children haven’t done anything wrong. Yet, today, they are afraid of
stepping out in the streets.” She spoke of how her daughter had exams but was afraid to step
out. She has been accompanying her to and from the exam centre. Hindus and Muslims want to
live together. But it is clear that efforts are being made to build mistrust between the
communities, she said, while pointing to news reports.
Shopkeeper at Choupal
Mohammed Qasim (NAME CHANGED) says the police brutally suppressed the protests at
Khureji. He had visited Shaheen Bagh several times with his family, most of whom are terrified
of the NRC. Qasim says after the 26th, the situation in Khureji worsened with the police
dispersing protestors aided by RSS men wearing jeans and in helmets. He spoke of how Khureji
has never witnessed communal clashes. The impact of the events of the last couple of weeks are
likely to remain, he felt.
Qasim wouldjoin the protests if they restart but says the people are afraid. They are scared that
there are informers among them. He says business in Khureji has collapsed since the police
violence and Tahir Hussain was framed.
Family of arrested who wished to remain unnamed
His sonwho was active in the protests, was arrested on 28th February 2020 at a mobile shop
with 30 others at 3:30 pm but was released later at night after people arrived at the police
station and put pressure on the police. His son was brutally beaten and was bleeding from the
nose. His son has fled. He believes it will be hard to restart protests but if should such happen,
he will rejoin.

5. We spoke to several other persons in Khureji, besides those recorded above. These persons only
spoke to us on the condition of anonymity, refusing for their testimony to be recorded. This
indicates a prevailing sense of fear in the locality and distrust of any who is not a known and
familiar face. With rumours afloat of the police having a list of 70 to 300 names and videos of
protestors many fear that there exist informers in their midst. Many also blame the local beat
officer Constable Yograj, who they believe has been spying on residents for some time. As he
knows where most people live and the places they frequent, nobody feels safe walking the lanes
they have walked for most of their lives.
In the evening fact finding team witnessed an Aman Yatra which appeared to be led by the
police and RSS men. They chanted slogans of Hindu Muslim Bhai-BhaiandBharat Mata Ki Jai.
Several residents witnessing the rally remarked with irony how Khureji saw no fights between
Hindus and Muslims, but residents irrespective of faith felt fear only of the police.
Observations
An overwhelming sense of fear and despondency pervades Khureji Khas. Random arrests and
raids and movement of police in strength through the streets and gullies of the locality have
made people afraid to walk around, go about their daily routines and even open shops and
businesses. Many people have even fled Khureji or have sent their children to stay with relatives
outside New Delhi. The FIR filed against the protestors includes a plethora of sections of the IPC
and Arms Act. Not all the arrested are even named in the FIR. All this has terrorised the locality
into submission and broken the peaceful protests against communally charged and anti-people
CAA, NRC and NPR. Khureji Khas, just a short while ago was a thriving and bustling locality
where a democratic struggle for peoples’ rights was peacefully underway. Now a pale shadow of
its former self, its residents fear to leave their houses, speak to each other in low whispers not
knowing who among may be the next to face the ire of the police.
Demands
1. Immediate release of all those arrested and detained from Khureji since February 26th
2020 and dropping of charges against those arbitrarily picked up.
2. Immediate investigation into police action in the area through SIT or an independent
magisterial enquiry.
3. Withdrawal of police deployment in the area and peaceful resumption of dialogue with
the residents.
4. Strict action against police personnel found participating in the beatings of peaceful
protestors, breaking of CCTV cameras and molesting women in the area.