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In Pictures

Gallery|Human Rights

In Pictures: A year on, justice eludes victims of Delhi violence

Muslims who were injured, burned out of their homes during India’s communal riots fear they may never see justice.

In this February 28, 2020, photo, a man gestures as a senior Delhi police officer speaks to a group of Muslims ahead of Friday prayers near a heavily-policed fire-bombed mosque in New Delhi. [Altaf Qadri/AP Photo]
Published On 25 Feb 202125 Feb 2021
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A year after India’s capital saw its worst communal riots in decades, many of the Muslim victims say they have come repeatedly up against refusal by police to investigate complaints against Hindu rioters.

Some hope the courts will still come to their aid. But others now believe the justice system under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government has become stacked against them.

Adding to the sense of injustice is that accounts from Muslim victims as well as reports from rights groups have indicated that leaders of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party and the New Delhi police force tacitly supported the Hindu mobs during the fevered violence.

A year on, many Muslim victims of the riots are still fear further bloodletting. Hundreds have abandoned their gutted homes and moved elsewhere, many forced to sell up at throwaway prices.

Those who chose to stay have fortified their neighbourhoods with metal gates in case of more mob attacks. Many say they fear those responsible will never be held to account.

“Everything has changed since the riots,” said Muhammad Nasir Khan, who was shot in his left eye during the violence. “I think I am slowly losing all my hopes of justice.”

Muhammad Nasir Khan, who was shot by a Hindu mob during the February 2020 communal riots, inside his home in North Ghonda, one of the neighbourhoods worst-affected by the riots in New Delhi. [Altaf Qadri/AP Photo]
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Khan sifts through his legal and medical files inside his home in North Ghonda. [Altaf Qadri/AP Photo]
Many of the Muslim victims of last year's bloody violence say the police has repeatedly refused to investigate complaints against Hindu rioters. [Altaf Qadri/AP Photo]
Haroon, who saw his 32-year-old brother being shot and killed by his Hindu neighbours during the communal riots, inside his home in North Ghonda. [Altaf Qadri/AP Photo]
Haroon holds a mobile phone with a photograph of his brother who was shot and killed by his Hindu neighbours. [Altaf Qadri/AP Photo]
Some victims hope the courts will still come to their help. But others now believe the justice system under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu-nationalist government has become stacked against them. [Altaf Qadri/AP Photo]
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In this February 26, 2020 photo, a group of Muslims huddle together in the back of a mini truck as they leave the area with their belongings after the communal violence in New Delhi. [Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP Photo]
In this February 28, 2020, photo, paramedics tend to the wounds of Mehfooz Umar, left, and Mohammad Afzal at Al-Hind hospital in the Old Mustafabad neighbourhood of New Delhi. [Altaf Qadri/AP Photo]
Delhi riots
In this February 27, 2020, photo, an Indian Muslim boy stands inside a mosque burned in the communal violence in New Delhi. [Altaf Qadri/AP Photo]
File photo of relatives mourn the death of a man killed in Delhi violence
In this February 27, 2020, photo, relatives and neighbours wail near the body of Mohammad Mudasir, 31, who was killed in communal violence in New Delhi. [Manish Swarup/AP Photo]


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