The Delhi police have now said that while there were sit-in protests in Delhi against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) till the 22nd, a communal riot as the one witnessed by Delhi did not seem imminent and that, the riots could have been triggered by an ‘external force’. According to a report in the Times of India, the Delhi police believes that Pinjra Tod, an ‘activist group’, could have been that ‘external factor’ that ultimately led to the Delhi riots.

Pinjra Tod claims to be an “autonomous collective of women students fighting for a just, accessible, non-discriminatory University and affordable accommodation” and has been involved in numerous protests and campaigns of a far-left nature.

The Delhi police believe that on the intervening night of 22nd and 23rd February, this ‘external force’ essentially convinced the women protesting against CAA, to choke the arterial Jafrabad Metro station road and escalate their protest to full-fledged road blockage.

Read: Delhi Riots: Far-Left ‘women rights group’ Pinjra Tod accused of inciting violence and blocking roads by ‘concerned’ anti-CAA citizens

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According to the TOI report, an officer has claimed that Pinjra Tod activists were present in the Seelampur-Jafrabad area on February 22 evening and urged the anti-CAA protesters at the dharna site and other nearby areas to make their anti-CAA protest more impactful by creating a roadblock at the Jafrabad Metro station road. According to the report, it was this event that finally led to a show of strength from the other side and eventually, led to the Delhi riots.