Despite 48 hours having elapsed since an angry mob of 150-odd people allegedly charged into the office-cum-residence of two RTI activists in the Jama Masjid area, no arrests have been made in the case as yet.
While the RTI activists Sheeba Aslam Fehmi and her husband Arshad Fehmi have been provided 24-hour security, the absence of punitive action has raised serious questions about policing in this area.
According to the FIR filed in this case (a copy of which is with TOI), police reached the spot even as the angry mob was present inside the activist couples' home, breaking electronic equipment and damaging the furniture. The crowd had allegedly barged inside the activist's home on Saturday and threatened them for having spoken out against illegal encroachments in the area.
However, no accused has been named in the FIR. Despite several attempts, DCP (Central) Vivek Kishore did not respond to calls regarding the progress of this case.
Curiously, there has been a shockingly low number of FIRs -- only 50 till date -- registered in the Jama Masjid police station this year. Activists in the area claim that despite large-scale economic criminal activities going on in the area, the police prefer to turn a blind eye. Police however claimed that cases are registered and investigated whenever any information is received about criminal activity in the area.
"The mere registration of cases is not reflective of the policing in areas like Jama Masjid which need a lot of preventive policing and day-to-day police arrangements due to the presence of a mosque in the area. There are many processions and activities for which bandobast has to be made and police is active in that.
Each police station functions according to the demographic of the area, the nature of activities, features of the area etc. Jama Masjid and some other police stations in the district have a small area allotted to them where the focus is more on preventive policing," said joint commissioner of police (north) Sudhir Yadav.
Meanwhile, local activists in the area claimed that Jama Masjid is host to a number of economic crimes like parking mafia, unauthorized foreign currency exchange, drug peddling, illegal renting of property, flesh trade and dismantling of stolen motor vehicles and their resale.
"We have filed a number of RTIs about these crime. Illegal parking flourishes in the Jama Masjid area for which anything between Rs 50-200 is charged. Auto parts are cut in the area for which Transport Department is supposed to give a NOC. People are often swindled by unauthorized currency exchange agents. These businesses are operating in broad daylight. It is a matter of great concern that criminals are able to operate like this without fear," said Arshad.
The activists were threatened for speaking out against illegal encroachments in the area.
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