Delhi riots: Court grants bail to man, says no direct evidence against him

A Delhi court has granted bail to a man in a case related to the communal violence in north east Delhi, saying prima facie there was no direct evidence against him.

Additional Sessions Judge Vinod Yadav granted the relief to Imran on furnishing a bail bond of Rs 20,000 with one surety of like amount in the case related to gunshot injuries received by Constable Deepak during the riots in Dayalpur area.

The court said in its order passed on September 1, that there was no CCTV footage available where the accused was seen to be a member of the riotous mob and the police has failed to prove his call detail record (CDR) location at the scene of the incident.

It further noted that a perusal of the examination report of Deepak in the charge sheet revealed that he was medically treated for the gunshot injuries suffered by him on his left leg, whereas in FIR, he had stated that he suffered gunshot injuries on his right leg.

It also said the important fact which was noteworthy was that Imran was not arrested from the scene of the crime, instead he has been arrested in the case merely on the basis of his disclosure statement made by him in another case related to riots in Bhajanpura area.

The court, however, clarified that anything stated in the order should not be construed as expressing any opinion on the final merits of the case, as it was at "pre-cognizance stage".  

"The complainant/injured was discharged on the same day itself from GTB Hospital and the injuries suffered by him were stated to be "simple" in nature. A perusal of the examination report (i.e the charge sheet) of injured/complainant Constable Deepak reveals that he was medically treated for the gunshot injuries suffered by him on his left leg, whereas in FIR, he had stated that he suffered gunshot injuries on his right leg," the court said in its order.

It further said there was no electronic evidence on record against Imran and there was no public witness in the case, whom he can threaten or intimidate.

"Besides, the disclosure statement of the applicant (Imran) in the said case, prima facie there is no direct evidence to connect him with the incident in this case. The identification of the applicant by Constable Rohit is hardly of any consequences to the prosecution. The investigation in the matter is complete," the court said.

It directed the accused not to tamper with evidence and to maintain peace and harmony in the locality and to instal "Aarogya Setu App" in his mobile phone.

During the hearing held through video conferencing, advocate Mohammad Danish, appearing for Imran, claimed he has been falsely implicated in the case and the alleged recovery of wooden sticks and stones at his instance was "planted one".

Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad, appearing for the state, opposed the bail plea saying Imran has been categorically identified in the case by Constable Rohit, who was also present on duty with Deepak at the scene of the crime and he had taken injured to the hospital for his medical treatment.   The public prosecutor further argued that at Imran's instance and his accomplice three wooden sticks were recovered from the Brijpuri Pulia, near Chand Bagh nala in the case.

According to the prosecution, the case was registered on February 26 on the complaint of Deepak, who in his statement stated that on February 25, he was present near Brijpuri Puliya alongwith other police staff to maintain law and order in the area and to control the riotous mob.

Suddenly, the riotous mob became violent and started damaging/burning the properties in Brijpuri area and the police officials present there tried to control the situation by using force and firing tear-gas shells, his complaint had stated.

In the meantime, two boys from the front side of the mob fired bullets from the pistol, as a result of which Deepak sustained gunshot injuries upon his left leg and was taken to Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital (GTB Hospital) by Rohit, where he was given medical treatment, the complaint claimed.

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.