On July 10, Monday, the Delhi police said that they have arrested a man near the Myanmar-India border over his involvement in the murder of Head Constable Ratan Lal during the anti-Hindu Delhi Riots of 2020. The accused has been identified as Mohammad Khalid, a resident of Chand Bagh in the Karawal Nagar Area.
Mohammad Khalid is the brother of Mohammad Ayaz, one of the main conspirators of the murder of Head Constable Ratan Lal. Ayaz was arrested by the Delhi Police’s Special Cell on June 21 this year.
Sharing the news of the arrest, Special Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ravindra Singh Yadav said, “A tip-off was received that Khalid was hiding in Manipur. He was arrested near the Myanmar-India border.”
During questioning, the suspect admitted that he took part in the Chand Bagh anti-CAA/NRC rally in 2020 with his older brother Mohammad Ayaz and several friends. At a private meeting held at his home, it was resolved by everybody present to bring sticks and iron rods to block the roads, Yadav said.
As discussed, the road leading to the Jafrabad Metro Station was blocked by Muslim rioters. Then, a huge mob gathered at the Chand Bagh protest site and attempted to block the main Wazirabad road. Lal was killed and numerous other police officers were hurt when Khalid, his brother Ayaz, and other protesters started throwing stones at the police team when it attempted to stop them.
Notably, only last month, Delhi Police’s Special Cell arrested Mohammed Ayaz. Police had then said that as Ayaz was absconding, the police had kept a close watch on the close contacts of Khalid and Ayaz. The technical and manual surveillance revealed they kept changing their hideouts. At one point, they were spotted in Manipur, where efforts were made to arrest them. The Police noted Ayaz’s location in Bengaluru in the first week of June 2023 and arrested him.
Ratan Lal Murder
A crazed Muslim mob mercilessly lynched Ratan Lal while he was trying to do his duty on the main Wazirabad Road, Chand Bagh. The 42-year-old police officer lived with his family in Amrit Vihar, Burari, Delhi.
Lal belonged to Fathepur Tihwali village in Rajasthan’s Sikar district. His wife and three children survive Lal. The Sikar resident had joined the Delhi Police in the constable post in 1998. He married a Jaipur resident in 2004. Ratan Lal was posted at Gokulpuri Police Station. He lived with his family in a house in Delhi’s Burari area.
A mob attacked police officers stationed in Maujpur, Delhi’s North-East area, on February 24, 2020. 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.
The Special Investigation Team of Delhi Police had in June 2020 filed a 1,100-page charge sheet in the case of 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.