A court here acquitted 10 persons accused of arson and rioting in a case linked to the 2020 north-east Delhi riots, citing doubts regarding the claims made against them by the Investigating Officer (IO).

Additional Sessions Judge Pulastya Pramachala of Karkardooma Courts granted bail to Mohd. Shahnawaz, Mohd. Shoaib, Shahrukh, Rashid, Azad, Ashraf Ali, Parvez, Mohd. Faisal, Rashid and Mohd Tahir in an order dated September 11.

The matter pertains to an FIR lodged at Gokalpuri Police Station on March 1, 2020, wherein the complainant, Narender Kumar, had alleged that his shop in Shiv Vihar Tiraha was vandalised by a mob during the riots. He had also alleged that the mob had entered his house and looted gold and silver ornaments. As many as 17 witnesses were examined in the case, including 12 police officers.

“…..There is another gap in the evidence of prosecution, to give a contradictory picture. This gap goes on to adversely affect the credibility of claim made by all aforesaid three eyewitnesses,” the court noted in its acquittal order announced in an open court on September 11.

It also accepted the fact that while there could have been a delay in investigation of the case due to the COVID-19 pandemic scare at the time, the artificiality of claim is different thing, which creates doubt regarding the genuineness of the claim made by IO and the police eyewitnesses.

The court raised suspicion on the claims made by the police officers, who claimed to be working together at the time of the incident, noting that later, their duty rosters presented in court showed otherwise.

“Witness 1, 2 and 3 did not support the case of prosecution on the aspect of identification of accused persons. Thus, the overall effect remains that I find it unsafe to rely upon the evidence of witness 6, 9 and 13, to believe that all the accused persons were part of the mob, which had attacked upon the property of the complainant,” the judge noted.

Source link