A Delhi Court on Tuesday acquitted a man accused of committing rioting and dacoity, besides being part of unlawful assembly during the riots that rocked the North-East area of the national capital last year.
In the first verdict over the riots, Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat acquitted Suresh alias Bhatura, saying that this was a ‘clear cut case of acquittal’. The ASJ further said, “The testimony of witnesses are completely contradictory to each other”.
The accused was charged under Sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting) and 395 (dacoity) of the Indian Penal Code.
It was alleged that a huge crowd carrying iron rods and sticks ransacked a shop during the riots in February, 2020. The shop owner saw the rioters committing the offence and identified Suresh as one of them.
The accused was represented by legal aid Counsel Rajeev Pratap Singh, who told the court that his client was granted bail earlier by the court, but “could not pay his surety since he belonged to a poor family”.
The FIR in this case was filed on the complaint of one Asif, who stated that on February 25, 2020 at around 1600 hrs, a huge crowd carrying iron rods and lathis came to his shop located at Main Babarpur road, broke open the shutter and looted his shop.
This shop is originally owned by one Bhagat Singh, who said in his statement to the police that the members of the mob looted the shop, as they thought that it was owned by a Muslim man. He even tried to reason with the mob, but was chased away. Singh then reached out to a head constable, who reached the spot, and the crowd dispersed after seeing the policeman.
Read order below:
SC-No.-42-2021-suresh-@-bhatura-short-order-1