The Delhi Police will act on the Centre’s assurance to withdraw FIRs against protesters during the CJP agitation only after receiving formal communication and guidelines from the competent authority, sources said on Sunday.
According to the police, 15 FIRs have been registered across police stations in New Delhi district in connection with the July 20 violence and related protest incidents.
At a joint press conference on Saturday with Cockroach Janata Party spokespersons Saurav Das and Abhishek Ranka, Union Minister JP Nadda announced that the government had agreed to withdraw FIRs against protesters and would issue written confirmation of the agreed terms by Tuesday.
“We will act according to the guidelines and official communication once received from the competent authority,” a police source said, adding that the withdrawal of cases would not affect the ongoing investigation into the alleged larger conspiracy behind the clashes.
Investigators are reviewing CCTV footage, digital records, mobile phone data and witness statements to reconstruct the events and identify those who planned, incited or participated in the violence.
The police have also used facial recognition technology to identify more than 2,500 individuals with criminal records or histories of public disorder.
The July 20 clashes left more than 200 police personnel and 70 protesters injured, and caused damage to several government vehicles and other public property, the police said.
The conspiracy investigation will continue independently of the FIR withdrawals, with all collected evidence to be examined as part of the broader inquiry.
Separately, a public interest litigation has been filed before the Supreme Court seeking FIRs against Delhi Police and Central Armed Police Force personnel over alleged excessive force against students protesting at Jantar Mantar. The protests were organised by the Cockroach Janata Party.
The petition calls for an independent investigation, preservation of CCTV and body-camera footage and compensation for injured protesters. It alleges that peaceful demonstrators demanding NEET-UG examination reforms faced disproportionate police action, including lathicharges, physical assault, tear gas and unlawful detentions. It further claims that unidentified individuals in plainclothes assaulted protesters while the police looked on, a claim the petitioner says warrants independent scrutiny.
The petitioner has submitted a pen drive containing roughly 100 videos, along with photographs and other material, purportedly documenting police violence, assaults and detentions during the protest. The plea seeks preservation of all electronic evidence, including CCTV, drone and body-camera footage, wireless logs, deployment orders and social media recordings, and requests a judicial inquiry or independent investigation into the allegations of excessive force. It also seeks the identification of individuals in plain clothes, registration of FIRs where offences are found to have been committed, and compensation for injured protesters.