According to a highly placed Delhi Police source, "we have gathered some sensitive information on the violence which took place on December 15 in Jamia Nagar and Friends Colony during anti-CAA protests. The information has been shared with the Union Home Ministry and intelligence agencies."
"The CCTV footage captured during the Jamia violence has revealed the hands of banned outfits. Most of the rioters are between the age group of 16-17 and 30-35 and had come from outside," he added.
The Delhi Police analysis of the footage reveals the protesters, who carried tri-colours in their hands, instigating the crowds to throw stones and cause riots.
"The rioters wanted to prove that they are patriots, which is nothing but a sham. This is a well thought out strategy," a police officer told when asked why these rioters were carrying tri-colours during violent protests.
This prompted the investigating agency to change the focus of the probe to the role of banned outfits intruding into the Jamia Millia campus during riots on December 15 in South Delhi and on December 17 in the Seelampur-Jaffrabad areas, though investigating officers have refused to reveal more on the issue.
Delhi Police suspect that Popular Front of India (PFI) and sleeper cells of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) may be behind the riots.
Another source in Delhi Police said: "In order to hoodwink authorities, PFI and affiliated outfits carry tri-colours and sing the national anthem and also hold parades to show that they are patriots. But their intentions are disturbing."
Delhi Police have also prepared a database of all those who took part in the riots and their role in other such violent protests in the past, the source added.
(Sanjeev Kumar Singh Chauhan can be contacted at sanjeev.c@.in)
( With inputs from IANS )