Delhi riots: Court grants bail to 7 murder accused, says can't jail them till end of trial
New Delhi, Jun 30: A court here on Wednesday granted bail to seven accused in a murder case related to the north-east Delhi violence, saying they cannot be incarcerated till the conclusion of trial which is likely to be delayed due to the COVID pandemic.
The case pertains to alleged murder of one Vinod Kumar in Delhi's Brahmpuri area during the communal riots on February 24 last year.
In all, 12 persons are accused in the case.
Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat granted relief to the seven accused saying they cannot be incarcerated till the conclusion of the trial, which will take a lot of time and particularly considering the pandemic .
Noting that most of them have remained in the judicial custody for more than a year, the judge said, Considering the facts and circumstances, period of custody, the applications of all the accused persons are allowed and they are admitted to bail.
The court directed Sagir Ahmad, Naved Khan, Javed Khan, Arshad, Gulzar, Mohd Imran, and Chand Babu to furnish personal bonds of Rs 20,000 each with one local surety of the like amount as a condition for bail.
They have also been directed to not indulge in any kind of criminal activity, not leave Delhi-NCR without the court's permission or tamper with the evidence.
Following the riots, the FIR was registered in the case for offences such as murder, attempt to murder, rioting, promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion under the Indian Penal Code and Arms Act.
Communal clashes had broken out in north-east Delhi on February 24, 2020 after violence between the Citizenship (Amendment) Act supporters and its protesters spiralled out of control leaving at least 53 people dead and over 700 injured.
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Marxism will remain relevant despite Left electoral's losses, says general secretary M A Baby
New Delhi (PTI): CPI(M) General Secretary M A Baby on Thursday asserted that the Left movement would remain relevant despite not being in power in any state, saying the ideology would continue to endure as long as social and economic inequalities persist.
Hitting back at BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar over his reported remarks that Marxism had become irrelevant, Baby, in an interview with PTI Videos, said, "So long as there is division in society, so long as there is exploitation of the majority of workers, peasants and ordinary masses by a handful of billionaires, Marxism will remain relevant."
"That perhaps Mr Rajeev Chandrasekhar may not be able to understand, but this is the fact of the matter," he said.
Baby acknowledged that the CPI(M)-led Left was currently without an elected government in any state, but maintained that electoral setbacks would not diminish the movement's role.
"We may not have an elected government in any state. There were occasions when we didn't have a government. But the red flag and the commitment to organise and struggle for the rights of the dispossessed, marginalised and exploited will always be upheld by CPI(M) and the Left movement," he said.
He said the Left continued to enjoy support among workers, peasants, agricultural labourers, youth, students and women, and argued that the movement remained necessary because "oppression and assault" continued in society.
"So long as such problems exist in society, the red flag and the working class movement will continue to work among the masses," the Left leader said.
Exuding confidence on the Left's revival, Baby said the party would reflect on the reasons behind its electoral loss.
"We may be rejected in one election, but we will stage our comeback by understanding what went wrong with us," he said, adding, "We will listen to people and we will come back with higher strength."
Baby also criticised the Congress over reported factional tensions in Kerala after the Congress-led United Democratic Front's victory in the state.
"The way they are behaving is being watched by the people of Kerala," he said, referring to infighting within the Congress.
"Those who have given a massive majority to Congress and UDF would be watching all this," he added, while urging party leaders to "settle the problem in an amicable, democratic manner".
Referring to West Bengal, Baby alleged that violence had escalated following the BJP's victory in the state assembly polls.
"It is quite unfortunate that the moment BJP snatched a massive victory in West Bengal, violence has also started on a big scale," he said.
He also accused the Trinamool Congress of being "notorious for violent activities" and alleged that the "RSS-controlled BJP" had "unleashed violence in many places" after the election results.
"This is not good for Bengal, not good for the country. We wish and hope that normalcy would be restored as soon as possible," he said.
Baby said the CPI(M) and the Left in West Bengal would continue efforts to "pacify people" and avoid violence and confrontation.
Asked about former Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan not reacting publicly to the election results, Baby said Vijayan would respond "at an appropriate time".
