A Delhi court on Saturday granted bail to a 17-year-old student in a case related to the February communal violence in north east Delhi, saying there is no public eye witness who has attributed his role in the matter. Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat granted bail to the minor on furnishing of a bail bond of Rs 15,000 with one surety of like amount in the case related to rioting in the Welcome area of north east Delhi, during which a person, Sajid, suffered bullet injuries to his head.
The court said that the minor’s disclosure statement carried no meaning and the statement of Constable Pushkar given on April 19 in which he identified the accused was not a strong piece of evidence. “There is no public eye witness who has attributed the role of the accused /applicant in the present case. Apart from a disclosure statement, which by itself carries no meaning, there is one statement of Constable Pushkar who identified the applicant/accused as one of the rioters in the incident of February 25, 2020. However, the statement by a police personnel, given only on April 19, 2020, for the incident of February 25, 2020, is not a strong piece of evidence,” it said in its order.
The court also noted that Sajid did not identify or name the accused in his statement. It directed the 17-year-old student not to tamper with evidence or leave Delhi without its permission.
During the hearing, advocate Abdul Gaffar, appearing for the accused, argued that he has been falsely implicated in the matter and was not even named in the FIR. There is no credible evidence against the accused in the case, he said. Additional Public Prosecutor Saleem Ahmad, appearing for the police, opposed the bail plea and said the minor was apprehended in another case related to the riot and in it, he disclosed about his involvement in the present case.
He said that the accused was also identified by Constable Pushkar. 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.
Source: News18