2020 Delhi riots: Nine men acquitted of torching medical store
New Delhi (PTI): A court here has acquitted nine men in a case of setting a medical store on fire by a mob during the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, saying the sole testimony of a witness was insufficient to assume their presence and that the accused were entitled to the benefit of doubt.
The court was hearing a case against nine men accused of being part of a riotous mob that torched a medical store on the main Brijpuri Road in Bhagirathi Vihar on February 25, 2020.
"I find that charges levelled against all the accused persons are not proved beyond doubt. Hence, the accused are acquitted of all the charges levelled against them in this case," Additional Sessions Judge Pulastya Pramachala said in a recent order.
The judge said it was "well established" that an unlawful assembly was involved in rioting, vandalism and arson -- thereby damaging and burning the shop.
But for the identification of the accused, three public witnesses -- including the complainant -- did not support the prosecution's case and were declared hostile, the court said.
The identity of the accused was not proved by the evidence of two police officials and Constable Vipin remained the only prosecution witness to establish that they were part of the mob.
Despite knowing the names and particulars of the accused, the constable formally recorded the information with a delay on March 20, 2020, the court noted.
"Keeping in view such delay in disclosure of vital information being recorded, I find it desirable to apply the test of consistent testimony of more than one witness in the present case," the judge said.
He said on the application of the "test", the constable's sole testimony was not sufficient to assume the presence of any of the accused in the mob.
"In such a situation, (the) accused persons are given the benefit of doubt," the judge said.
A charge sheet was filed by officials at Gokalpuri police station against Mohd Shahnawaz, Mohd Shoaib, Shahrukh, Rashid, Azad, Ashraf Ali, Parvej, Mohd Faisal and Rashid under various provisions, including rioting, of the Indian Penal Code.
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Chadha, others wouldn't have left AAP had it followed 'right' path: Anna Hazare
Mumbai (PTI): Social activist Anna Hazare has said Raghav Chadha and six other Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha members would not have quit the party had it followed the "right" path.
"Everyone has the right to hold an opinion in a democracy. They (Chadha and others) must have faced some trouble, which is why they left," Hazare told reporters on Friday in Ahilyanagar district of Maharashtra.
AAP Rajya Sabha members Raghav Chadha and Sandeep Pathak addressed a joint press conference in Delhi on Friday, announcing their exit from the Arvind Kejriwal-led party to join the BJP.
Chadha claimed that nearly two-thirds of AAP's Rajya Sabha members had quit the party and would function as a separate faction.
"It is their (AAP leadership’s) fault. Had that party followed the right way, they would not have left," Hazare said.
Hazare reiterated that Chadha and others must have faced difficulties within AAP, and that is why they left. "Had the party gone in the right direction, they would not have quit the party," he added.
"There must be some or the other reason (for their leaving AAP). In a democracy, every person has a view about where to stay and leave," Hazare said.
The Chadha-led exodus marks a significant setback for the Kejriwal-led party since its formation in 2012, which followed the momentum of Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption movement.
