NEW DELHI: Delhi High Court has granted bail to three people arrested in connection with last year’s northeast Delhi riots case observing that there was no prima facie evidence to show their involvement in the violence.
Justice Mukta Gupta granted bail to Shabir Ali, Mehtab and Rais Ahmed, who are accused of being a member of unlawful assembly among other charges.
The court directed the three be released on bail on furnishing a personal bond of Rs 25,000 each with a surety of like amount.
It also imposed various conditions, including that they could not leave the country without prior permission, and in case of change of residential address and/or mobile phone, the same would be intimated to the court concerned by way of an affidavit.
“Keeping in view that the petitioners were present as members of a mob at gali No.1 Akhadewali gali after 11pm when some members of this group were armed with sarias (iron rods), dandas (sticks), stones, swords, knives etc, however, there is no material, even prima facie, on record to show that they were members of the mob that was present at Gali No.1 Brahmpuri at 10.30pm that indulged in pelting stones,which caused injuries to Nitin and killed Vinod Kumar, this court deems it fit to grant bail to them,” the court observed.
The prosecution cited statements of two constables who had identified the accused among people seen in the footage of CCTV at Gali No.1, Akhadewali Gali on February 24.
It alleged that the accused were part of the alleged mob that committed the murder of Vinod and caused injury to Nitin in Brahmpuri.
More than 750 cases were registered in connection with the northeast Delhi violence, which claimed at least 53 lives and left several others injured.
So far, over 250 chargesheets have been filed in the violence-related cases.