India News | Delhi Riots: Court Dismisses Bail Plea of Man in Attempt to Murder Case
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. A Delhi court Tuesday dismissed bail plea of a man arrested in a case of attempt to murder during the communal violence in north east Delhi in February.
New Delhi, Jul 28 (PTI) A Delhi court Tuesday dismissed bail plea of a man arrested in a case of attempt to murder during the communal violence in north east Delhi in February.
Additional Sessions Judge Vinod Yadav rejected the bail application of Mohd Mukarram saying he was part of an unlawful assembly which was allegedly responsible for gunshot injuries to three persons of the area.
The court said that the injured persons -- Bhave Gautam, Lokender and Shyam -- are residents of the same locality as Mukarram and if released on bail at this stage, the possibility of him threatening or intimidating them cannot be ruled out.
It, however, clarified that anything stated in the order should not be construed as expressing any opinion on the final merits of the case, as the case is at pre-cognizance stage.
“In the CCTV footage, which is of '2 hours: 45 minutes: 49 seconds' duration, it is clearly apparent that the co-accused and other persons in the riotous mob were armed with 'deadly weapons' like pistols, dandas, sticks and petrol bombs. The 'common object' of this kind of riotous mob can be easily inferred therefrom,” the court said in its order.
It further noted that Mukarram has been clearly identified by Gautam and Constable Anuj and he has been clearly seen in the CCTV footage, which made it amply clear that he was very well present in the unlawful assembly, which had indulged in the acts of arsoning, looting, vandalism and torching.
“It is, however, prima facie clear that the applicant (Mukarram) was part of unlawful assembly which was responsible for giving gunshot injuries to the three injured persons.” The court said.
During the hearing held through video conferencing, advocate Abdul Shamim Khan, appearing for Mukarram, told the court that though he has been seen in the CCTV footage with a stone and stick in his hand, he had carried it only for his own protection and not for taking part in the rioting.
Khan further argued that the injuries of the three persons were minor.
Mukarram did not share any “common object” with the unlawful assembly, even if he was present at the spot, the lawyer said.
Special Public Prosecutor Saleem Ahmed, appearing for the state, opposed the bail plea saying Mukarram was present at the spot with unlawful assembly which was armed with stones, sticks, petrol bombs, acid bottles, and which had indulged in vandalism, chanting of slogans against a particular community, stone pelting, putting on fire the shops and houses of a particular community.
The public prosecutor further said that investigation in the matter was ongoing and the police was taking steps to identify the other rioters but on account of staff being engaged in Covid-19 management duty, there was delay in further probe.
Communal clashes had broken out in northeast Delhi on February 24 after violence between citizenship law supporters and protesters spiralled out of control leaving at least 53 people dead and around 200 injured.
(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)