India News | 2020 Delhi Riots: Court Acquits Man from the Charge of Vandalising, Torching Shops

New Delhi, Sep 12 (PTI) A court here on Monday acquitted a man from the charges of vandalising and setting ablaze some shops in a case related to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots.

The court said that the statement of the eye witness and complainant, who identified him as a member of the riotous mob, was “not reliable” and that the charges against him were not proved beyond reasonable doubts.

Also Read | Jharkhand Shocker: Woman, Paramour Booked for Killing Brother in Ramgarh.

“I find that charges levelled against the accused in this case are not proved beyond reasonable doubts. Hence, accused Gurjent Singh is acquitted of all the charges levelled against him in this case,” Additional Sessions Judge Pulastya Pramachala said.

The court was hearing a case where a riotous mob had allegedly vandalised and set on fire some shops in the Bhajanpura area on February 24, 2020.

Also Read | UP CM Yogi Adityanath Takes Stock of Debris Disposal Post Demolition of Supertech's Twin Tower in Noida.

During the investigation, one of the complainants, Rahis Ahmad, had identified the accused as a member of the riotous mob, following which he was arrested and charged with various offences under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including rioting, the prosecution said.

The court said that while it was “well established” that an unlawful assembly had committed rioting and arson, the foremost question was whether the accused was part of the mob.

Prosecution witness Rahis Ahmad did not name the accused as one of the rioters in his complaint dated March 4, 2020, nor did he make any call to the police on the day of the incident naming the accused as one of the rioters, the court said.

The court noted that as per Rahis Ahmad's testimony, the accused Gurjent Singh was the son of his erstwhile landlord, and he knew the accused well.

In these circumstances, his natural reaction would have been to mention the accused's name in the first instance itself, the court said.

“All of a sudden when the Investigating Officer (IO) visited the showroom of Rahis Ahmad on March 8, 2020, the prosecution witness pointed out to the accused, when the accused was allegedly passing in front of his showroom,” the court said.

“Silence on part of the prosecution witness regarding the name of the accused, up to March 8, 2020, does appear abnormal,” the court added.

Another eye witness and complainant in the case, Manjeet Singh, stated in his cross-examination, that he knew the accused well, but despite having seen the mob from his terrace, he did not identify the accused as part of the mob, the court said.

The court also noted the statement of Rahis Ahmad that he had received a video of the incident, but the accused was not visible in it.

“Therefore, the question arises if the accused participated in vandalism… then how could he be not visible in the video,” the court said adding, that “the only logical answer to this question appears to be that accused was not there in this mob and the incidents and therefore he did not figure in any video .”

The court further said that “perhaps, for such reason, even if there would have been any video, same was not brought forward.”

“In view of the above-mentioned analysis, I find that testimony of prosecution witness (Rahis Ahmad) is not reliable at all, to establish the presence of accused in the mob, which indulged into riot and incidents investigated in this case,” the judge said.

The judge also said that the testimony of the IO appeared “ flimsy in respect of the identification of the accused and his arrest.”

Earlier, Bhajanpura police station had registered an FIR in the case based on complaints from four people, Shahid, Firoz Ahmad, Manjeet Singh, and Rashid Ahmad.

Subsequently, a charge sheet was filed against the accused in May 2020 under various provisions of the IPC, including rioting, lurking house-trespass, mischief with intent to destroy the house, etc., and theft in the house dwelling.PTI MNR

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)