New Delhi : A Delhi court on Friday granted bail to an accused in a case related to violence in the city’s northeast parts in February, observing that he was not seen rioting in any CCTV footage or viral video during the violence.
Additional Sessions Judge Vinod Yadav directed Suhel to furnish a personal bond of Rs 20,000 with surety of like amount, not tamper with evidence or influence any witnesses.
He has also been asked to attend future court proceedings, share his contact number with the police and install Aarogya Setu application on his phone as a part of the conditions for granting bail.
While letting him off on bail, the court observed: “He is not seen in any CCTV footage or viral video. The investigating agency has recorded statements of various persons regarding the damage caused to their vehicles and properties, but no person has named or identified the applicant.”
Seeking dismissal of the bail application, Special Public Prosecutor Rajiv Kishan Sharma argued that Suhel had a scuffle with Assistant Sub-Inspector Ved Pal on the main Bhajanpura Road where the rioters vandalised the vehicles.
“On the basis of that scuffle, the applicant had taken active part in rioting and chanting slogans against the other community,” the Special Public Prosecutor added.
The court, however, turned down the argument, noting that Ved Pal did not report the matter to the police station on the day of the incident. He further did not even get any DD entry recorded about the incident.
“The applicant was not even arrested at the spot. I agree with the learned counsel for the applicant that the trial in the matter is likely to take long and no useful purpose would be served by keeping the applicant in detention,” the judge said.
On February 24, communal clashes had broken out in the national capital after violence between citizenship law amendment’s supporters and protesters spiralled out of control, leaving at least 53 people dead and around 200 injured. (IANS)