2020 Delhi riots: Court acquits 5 accused of arson, rioting
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New Delhi: A court here has acquitted five men accused of arson, rioting, and vandalism in connection with the 2020 Delhi riots.
The case was heard by Additional Sessions Judge Parveen Singh, who was hearing proceedings against Abdul Sattar, Muhammad Khalid, Hunain, Tanvir, and Arif. The accused faced charges of rioting, unlawful assembly, and vandalism in the Chand Bagh area of northeast Delhi.
In an order dated December 11, the judge stated:
"I find that the prosecution has failed to prove its case beyond all reasonable doubts and all the accused are entitled to the benefit of the doubt. The accused are accordingly acquitted of all the charges framed against them."
The court noted several discrepancies in the prosecution’s case. While the investigating officer claimed that photos of the accused were shown to witness Ramdass Gupta, an employee of a Bhajanpura petrol pump near the alleged incident site, the origin of the photos remained unclear.
"The assertion on behalf of the accused that after their arrest, they had been falsely implicated in this case in order to solve this case cannot be completely brushed aside," the judge observed.
The court also questioned the complainant’s account. While the complainant had claimed that he was attacked at the petrol pump and regained consciousness only at a hospital, his father had reportedly found him injured at Bhajanpura Chowk.
"According to the injured, after being hit on his head at the petrol pump, he regained consciousness at St Stephen's Hospital. Therefore, there is no possibility of this witness moving out of the petrol pump by himself," the judge pointed out.
"The complainant, in an unconscious condition, was found by his father not at the petrol pump, but at Bhajanpura Chowk and in front of the Bhajanpura police station. This further creates a doubt whether the injury was caused at the Bhajanpura petrol pump or not," the order added.
All five accused were arrested following an FIR lodged over stone-pelting and arson in the Chand Bagh area in February 2020. The complaint was filed by one Tarun, who alleged that a mob attacked him and set fire to his bike near the Bhajanpura petrol pump.
The FIR, registered at the Bhajanpura police station, invoked multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code, including those dealing with rioting, unlawful assembly, and arson.
With PTI inputs
