New Delhi [India], April 7: A Delhi court has framed charges against six persons accused of vandalization and arson in Khajuri Khas and Bhajanpura areas during the northeast Delhi violence on February 24, 2020.
Additional Session Judge Virender Bhatt of Karkardooma District Court framed charges against Sarfaraz, Firoz, Ikram, Mustaqeem, Gulfam alias Zubair and Saddam alias Ikrar under sections relating to rioting, unlawful assembly, arson, injuring public and police persons and other sections.
On the other hand, the court has discharged four accused persons, namely Gulfam, Javed, Anas and Shoaib Alam, of all charges.
The Court said, “There is no sufficient material on record to frame charges against these four accused and they are liable to be discharged.”
The FIR was registered on the statement of Head Constable Anil Kumar, who, along with other staff, was on duty in Khajuri Khas and Bhajanpura on that day to control the riots and maintain law and order.
Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) submitted that the three accused, namely Mustaqueem, Sarfaraz and Ikram, were arrested from the spot itself and were later identified as rioters by several police witnesses.
The SPP further submitted that the remaining seven accused were also arrested and implicated in this case after they had been properly identified as rioters by the police and public witnesses.
He also pointed out that all the accused can also be seen in the video footage of riotous incidents taking an active part in vandalization and arson at the spot in question.
On the other hand, the counsels for some of the accused persons submitted that they have been falsely implicated in this case, and there is no legally admissible evidence against them.
This case pertains to the communal violence and riots that broke out in Northeast Delhi in February 2020 against the Citizenship Amendment Act. In this violence, 53 people died, and hundreds were injured. (With inputs from ANI)
