Delhi court acquits 11 accused in 2020 riots case, doubts police witnesses

New Delhi: A court acquitted 11 people accused of looting a medical shop in Gokulpuri during the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, giving them the benefit of the doubt. Additional sessions judge Pulastya Pramachala noted that the core issue was the identification of the accused persons comprising the mob involved in the crime. The court observed that the two police witnesses, who were posted in the same police station, identified the photographs of the accused persons after a 10-month gap and appeared to be artificial eyewitnesses.According to Delhi Police, an FIR was registered in the case at Gokalpuri police station on March 3, 2020, based on a complaint of Mohammad Imran Sheikh. He claimed that his medicine shop was looted and destroyed during the riots on Feb 24, 2020. The prosecution alleged that the accused were involved in theft, vandalism and arson in some shops on the intervening night of Feb 24 and 25.The court pointed out that the investigating officer was said to know that the two police personnel were on duty at the spot, but he did not examine them. "Showing photographs of the accused to PW 9, when they were already arrested in this case, appears to be an unnatural action, giving the impression that PW9 was artificially made an eyewitness to identify the accused persons." As a result, the court discarded the witness testimony.The statement of another witness, Aslam, who identified the accused in court for the first time though he knew them from before, was termed "suspicious" by the court. "If prosecution witness (PW) 9 assistant sub-inspector Jahangir and PW10 ASI Vanvir actually saw and identified the accused persons among the rioters on Feb 24, 2020, then there was no good reason for them to keep silent for such a long period," the court said.The judge ruled that the charges against the accused were not proved beyond a reasonable doubt and acquitted Ankit Chaudhary, Sumit, Pappu, Vijay, Ashish Kumar, Sourabh Kaushik, Bhupender, Shakti Singh, Sachin Kumar, Rahul and Yogesh. New Delhi: A court acquitted 11 people accused of looting a medical shop in Gokulpuri during the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, giving them the benefit of the doubt. Additional sessions judge Pulastya Pramachala noted that the core issue was the identification of the accused persons comprising the mob involved in the crime. The court observed that the two police witnesses, who were posted in the same police station, identified the photographs of the accused persons after a 10-month gap and appeared to be artificial eyewitnesses.According to Delhi Police, an FIR was registered in the case at Gokalpuri police station on March 3, 2020, based on a complaint of Mohammad Imran Sheikh. He claimed that his medicine shop was looted and destroyed during the riots on Feb 24, 2020. The prosecution alleged that the accused were involved in theft, vandalism and arson in some shops on the intervening night of Feb 24 and 25.The court pointed out that the investigating officer was said to know that the two police personnel were on duty at the spot, but he did not examine them. "Showing photographs of the accused to PW 9, when they were already arrested in this case, appears to be an unnatural action, giving the impression that PW9 was artificially made an eyewitness to identify the accused persons." As a result, the court discarded the witness testimony.The statement of another witness, Aslam, who identified the accused in court for the first time though he knew them from before, was termed "suspicious" by the court. "If prosecution witness (PW) 9 assistant sub-inspector Jahangir and PW10 ASI Vanvir actually saw and identified the accused persons among the rioters on Feb 24, 2020, then there was no good reason for them to keep silent for such a long period," the court said.The judge ruled that the charges against the accused were not proved beyond a reasonable doubt and acquitted Ankit Chaudhary, Sumit, Pappu, Vijay, Ashish Kumar, Sourabh Kaushik, Bhupender, Shakti Singh, Sachin Kumar, Rahul and Yogesh.