On July 10, the officials of the Delhi Crime Branch arrested wanted murderer Mohammad Khalid from Manipur. Khalid was held for his role in the murder of head constable Ratan Lal during the 2020 anti-Hindu riots in north-east Delhi.
For the speedy arrest of the accused, the police also announced a reward of one lakh rupees on him. During the interrogation, Khalid revealed, he along with his brother participated in the protests. Also, there was a secret meeting at his house before the riots and it was decided in the meeting that they have to collect sticks, iron rods etc.
Notably, Ratan Lal was killed by miscreants in the Chand Bangh area. Khalid was named accused following the digital records. The police said that, following the meeting, rioters blocked the road leading to Jafrabad Metro Station and consequently, different groups started rioting in various parts of northeast Delhi.
As per the reports, Special Commissioner of Crime Branch, Ravindra Singh Yadav informed that, ‘Information was received that Mohammad Khalid was hiding in Manipur. Acting on this, he was arrested near the Indo-Myanmar border. During interrogation, he has told that in the year 2020, he was involved in the anti-CAA-NRC protest in Delhi’s Chand Bagh area along with his elder brother Mohammad Ayaz and others. A secret meeting was held at his house for the riots. In this meeting, it was decided to collect bricks and stones to block the road and to collect sticks and iron rods for violence’.
Sharing the news of the arrest, Yadav said, “A tip-off was received that Khalid was hiding in Manipur. He was arrested near the Myanmar-India border.”
When the riots took place in 2020, a mob had gathered at the Chand Bagh protest site and attempted to block the main road leading to Jaffrabad metro station. As the police tried to stop them, Khalid, his brother Ayaz and other rioters started pelting stones and attacking the police.
Along with this, an attempt was made to block the road to Wazirabad by gathering a large crowd at the place of protest in Chand Bagh. When the police tried to stop them, other rioters, including Mohammad Khalid and his brother Ayaz, attacked the police while pelting stones.
In this attack, head constable Ratan Lal lost his life and many other policemen were injured. Head constable Ratanlal was beaten to death by an Islamist mob. The then DCP of Shahdara Amit Sharma and the then ACP of Gokulpuri Anuj Kumar were also badly injured in the attack. Along with them, 50 other policemen were also injured.
The police had registered an FIR against Mohammad Khalid and others at Dayalpur police station in Delhi. After which Khalid was absconding for the last 3 years. Due to his role in the riots and him being absconding for a long time, the police announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh on him. His brother Ayaz was arrested by the Delhi Police on June 21 this year. Ayaz was also involved in the murder of head constable Ratan Lal.
Notably, riots broke out in Delhi in protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). In the riots, Islamists mainly targeted Hindus and attacked in many ways including firing, petrol bombs, knives, swords, and stone pelting. More than 50 people had lost their lives and hundreds of people were injured in this riot.
Ratan Lal was from Fathepur Tihwali village of Rajasthan’s Sikar district. He is survived by his wife and three children. He joined the Delhi Police in the constable post in 1998. Ratan Lal was posted at Gokulpuri Police Station. He lived with his family in a house in Delhi’s Burari area.
On February 24, 2020m Ratan Lal died from a bullet wound, according to the autopsy report. A video surfaced in March 2020 where a violent mob of rioters can be seen attacking the Delhi Police officers with stones and sticks.
In June 2020, the Delhi SIT filed a 1,100-page charge sheet in this case. The chargesheet had details relating to the murder of Ratan Lal and deadly attacks by rioters on IPS Amit Sharma and IPS Anuj Kumar. At least 17 accused had been named in the charge sheet. The police stated that the riots were engineered in Delhi through a conspiracy to malign the country’s image.
