In July 2020, OpIndia had reported the disclosure statement made by Tahir Hussain where he, in details, explained how he had planned the Delhi anti-Hindu Riots and how he had made attempts to evade the law by making false PCR calls, to pretend as if he was a victim of the riots and not the mastermind. Now, the Delhi police, in the chargesheet pertaining to FIR number 59, has filed another disclosure statement made by Tahir Hussain that gives a glimpse into just how well organised the Delhi riots were and how they were actually a culmination of the violence that had been unleashed since mid-December.
In the supplementary disclosure statement that has been submitted to the court by the Delhi Police in their ‘Final Report’ pertaining to FIR number 59, Tahir Hussain makes additional disclosures regarding his role in the Delhi violence that were hitherto unknown. In the disclosure statement, Tahir Hussain has said that he was the one who had organised the crowd that had set a bus on fire in Bhajanpura on the 16th of December, got a mob to pelt stones at Hindus on the 17th of December and revealed his role since the 15th December Jamia Milia Islamia protests and the subsequent police action.
The supplementary disclosure statement by Tahir Hussain starts with him narrating how he, after the 15th December Jamia protests and the subsequent police action against the rioters, had grown increasingly angry and decided to talk to the Muslims of his area about how the Citizenship Amendment Act is a law against the Muslim community and how because of it, Muslims would lose their citizenship and will have to flee India eventually.
On the 16th December, he started speaking to the Muslims of his area and asked them to assemble near Farukhia Masjid, Brijpuri Pulia at 12 o’clock that day. Tahir Hussain himself reached Farukhia Masjid at about 12:30 PM and he says that by 1 PM, at least a 1,000 Muslims had assembled to hear him talk about how CAA was anti-Muslim.
In his Supplementary Disclosure statement, he says that suddenly, while he was talking to the crowd on the 16th of December, the police arrived. Thereafter, many people went inside to Masjid to hide, making the excuse of reading Namaz and the others receded into several lanes and by-lanes.
Tahir Hussain says in his disclosure statement that after the police went away, Muslims against assembled in Lane 10 of Jama Masjid and the meeting about how CAA is ‘anti-Muslim’ started again. 50-60 people were present for these meetings, and then at 8 PM, Tahir Hussain says that they decided to meet at Al Hind Nursing Home to discuss the future course of action with one Dr. MM Anwar.
He then makes a shocking revelation. He says, to “mark his presence”, he got his men to pelt stones at a bus in Bhajanpura.
The statement where he says he wanted to “mark his presence” is rather interesting and can point towards several things. He could mean that he wanted to use this opportunity as a show of strength so the masterminds of the violence would take him seriously as someone who can be depended upon. One must remember that we had previously reported how the earlier Chargesheet revealed a meeting between Tahir Hussain, Khalid Saifi and Umar Khalid at Shaheen Bagh on 18th January where Umar Khalid had promised support in the riots to Tahir Hussain. It is entirely possible that by creating a violence situation on the 16th of December, Tahir Hussain wanted to “mark his presence” and show his strength for the subsequent plans of violence. It could also mean that he literally wanted to “mark his presence” is there was already a pre-conceived plan that he was in on.
The implication of this statement by Tahir Hussain is, however, not entirely clear by his statement.
Further in the disclosure statement, Tahir Hussain says that on the 17th of December, along with Dr Anwar, he had planned to take out a rally against the Citizenship Amendment Act. During the rally, in front of the Farukhiya Masjid, Tahir Hussain had spoken to 70-80 Muslims saying that under PM Modi and Amit Shah, if CAA is passed, then all Muslims would have to leave India and run away. He also told them that if they don’t want to run away from India, they should be ready to “bring them down to their knees”.
Tahir Hussain discloses that at that time, the police again showed up and the plan for the rally was cancelled with the crowd dispersing in different directions. However, he says that due to the rally being cancelled, he was enraged. At around 8 PM on the 17th of December, he assembled 200-250 people near the Tirpal Factory and taking advantage of the electricity being gone, got the mob to start pelting stones against the Hindus. He admits that for over 30 minutes, they kept attacking Hindus and at that time, the police had also fired tear-gas at the Muslims attacking Hindus. When a larger police force reached the spot, the crowd dispersed and Tahir Hussain ran away.
Interestingly, the chargesheet further says after the disclosure statement of Tahir Hussain that both incidents confessed to by Tahir Hussain were confirmed from the local police station.
The FIRs pertaining to these two incidents on the 16th of December 2019 and the 17th of December 2019 have been filed at the time in the Dayalpur police station.
- 16th December: FIR No. 510/19 dated 16th December.
- 17th December: FIR No. 512/90 dated 17th December.
The implications of the Supplementary Disclosure statement made by Tahir Hussain regarding Delhi violence
OpIndia, since the beginning, has maintained that the violence that erupted on the 24th and the 25th of February cannot be seen in isolation. The Delhi anti-Hindu riots were a culmination of the violence that had been unleashed, in a planned, calculated manner by elements like Umar Khalid, Tahir Hussain etc, since mid-December. Tahir Hussain’s statement now only confirms these worst suspicions. The violence that erupted in December against the State and Hindus was not spontaneous but was a calculated move to unleash violence by the very same elements that unleashed violence on the 24th and 25th of February.
The narrative that has been woven by the ‘Liberal’ intelligentsia is that the Delhi Riots were a planned “pogrom” against the Muslim community. However, every detail that we know so far points to a planned conspiracy to target Hindus in an attempt to “bring this government down to its knees”.
To this effect, it is important also to recall what was alleged against Tahir Hussain in the previous chargesheet that was filed by the Delhi Police.
- Tahir Hussain had planned the riots with Umar Khalid and Khalid Saifi back on 8th January during a meeting at Shaheen Bagh
- There were several transactions from shell companies that were suspicious. The chargesheet details several such transactions from Tahir Hussain’s account that indicates that he had started receiving money to organise the riots. Some of the money was even routed through shell companies
- Umar Khalid had assured Tahir Hussain that financially, Islamist outfit PFI (Popular Front of India) was ready to help in organizing the riots.
- Police say that Hussain, who had deposited his licensed pistol with 100 rounds in the Khajuri Khas police station in January, got it released only on 22 February – that is, just before the riots broke out. The chargesheet says that during the investigation, Hussain failed to give a satisfactory reply to the police regarding the release of his weapon. The chargesheet says, “Only 64 live cartridges and 22 empty cartridges were recovered at his instance. During interrogation, he could not give an account of the remaining 14 live cartridges and 22 empty/fired cartridges, when and where the same were fired/used.”
- During the intervening night of 24 and 25 February, Hussain had shifted his family to his parental house in Mustafabad citing safety, but continued to stay at his building “so that he could keep an eye on the whole situation and stand with the Muslims against the Hindus on the next day as per plan and criminal conspiracy”.
- Tahir Hussain made several PCR calls as a decoy, to ensure that his involvement in the riots is not revealed
- Tahir Hussain had ensured that the CCTV cameras were turned off so the evidence is not recorded
The disclosure statement made by Tahir Hussain earlier had a detailed account of how he had unleashed terror against Hindus during the Delhi anti-Hindu riots. The details of that can be read here.
December: The Beginning
The violence began on the 15th of December when Muslim mobs rampaged through the national capital. Amanatullah Khan, a prominent MLA of the Aam Aadmi Party, and Delhi’s Sunni Waqf Board chief was spotted leading the riots in Jamia Nagar. Chants of ‘Hinduon se Azadi’ were raised in the same area that very day. Buses were also set on fire during those violent protests. On the same night, the Delhi Police cracked down on the Jamia Milia Islamia University and entered the campus to flush out the miscreants.
Two days later, massive riots broke out in Seelampur. Delhi turned into a war zone. A school bus was attacked and set on fire as well. The mob taunted the policemen to run after them following which stones were pelted. Peace returned at the national capital following the escalation on the 17th of December but it was an uneasy peace. Police presence was still high given the security concerns. On the 27th of December, security was again heightened at Seelampur and drones were deployed for surveillance. Amidst all of this, the road continued to be blocked by the protesters at Shaheen Bagh.
Essentially, the supplementary disclosure statement by Tahir Hussain only reveals how the plans to unleash violence had taken shape right from the 15th of December and the aim behind the violence was two-pronged – to attack Hindus and to bring the central government to its knees.
