Delhi Police Claims 2020 Riots Were Part of Organised Regime Change Plot, Not Spontaneous Violence

New Delhi: In a significant development in the 2020 Delhi riots case, the Delhi Police is set to inform the Supreme Court that the violence which shook the national capital was not a spontaneous outburst, but a premeditated and organised attempt to destabilise the Indian state.

According to sources cited by CNN-News18, the revelation forms part of a detailed 177-page affidavit being filed in response to bail pleas submitted by several accused, including student activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam.

The police contend that ocular, documentary, and technical evidence collectively point to a “deep-rooted conspiracy” orchestrated along communal lines. The affidavit reportedly states that the violence was part of a deliberate plan to “weaponise public dissent against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA)” and “undermine the sovereignty and integrity of India.”

The document further claims that the riots were “organised and calibrated,” mirroring similar outbreaks across states such as Uttar Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, and Karnataka. “This was not an isolated incident but a synchronised effort to destabilise the government through orchestrated violence,” the affidavit asserts.

In a strong indictment of the accused, the Delhi Police also alleged that they have been abusing the judicial process by filing frivolous applications and engaging in coordinated tactics to delay proceedings. “Such conduct amounts to a brazen abuse of process,” the affidavit adds, noting that these actions have impeded the delivery of justice.

The Supreme Court is expected to examine these submissions during ongoing hearings concerning bail pleas and procedural delays linked to the case.

The Delhi Police is represented before the court by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta along with advocates Rajat Nair and Dhruv Pande.

The 2020 riots, which erupted in February that year amid protests over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, left 53 people dead and hundreds injured.

Earlier, the Delhi High Court observed that Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam were among the initial organisers of anti-CAA protests in December 2019. Investigators allege that they mobilised crowds through speeches, pamphlets, and digital communication networks — actions that, according to the police, later evolved into a structured conspiracy to incite violence.

While the police have described the two as “intellectual architects” of the unrest, both Khalid and Imam maintain that their involvement was limited to peaceful dissent, exercised under their constitutional right to protest, and bore no connection to the outbreak of violence.