New Delhi: U Delhi Court Charges framed against three accused of building a mosque Janta Masjid on the fire Gokupuri area During Northeast Delhi Violence 2020, The court has also framed charges of sabotage and rioting against him.
Additional Sessions Judge Virendra Bhati Charges were framed against Deepak, Prince and Shiva under sections related to rioting, unlawful assembly, theft, mischief and arson of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The court framed charges against the accused on the basis of the statements of two public witnesses Sharim and Sajid, a video containing the visuals of the accused persons and the CFSL report of the video.
On the issue of delay in recording the statements of two witnesses, the Court said, “It needs to be kept in mind that due to the atmosphere of panic and trauma caused by the unprecedented riots in the North-East district of Delhi with effect from 24.02. As on 27.02.2020, the public was hurt to such an extent that no one was ready to come forward and give a statement to the police as to what they had witnessed about the incidents of violence. That is why the delay in recording the statements of the above two witnesses, this In the case, fatality cannot be held in the case of the prosecution at this stage when the charges against the accused are to be decided.
“It would be highly unfair to disbelieve the statement of witnesses on the threshold without examining their statement on the test of cross-examination during the trial,” the court said. Thus, the Court prima facie found sufficient material for framing of charges against the accused persons.
special public prosecutor (SPP) submitted that all the three accused, identified as rioters, ransacked and set ablaze the Janata Masjid on 24 February 2020 by two public witnesses, Sharim and Sajid.
He further added that the accused persons are clearly visible in the video footage. Charges of all the offenses mentioned in the chargesheet have been made against all the persons.
On the other hand, the defense lawyers argued that the accused in this case along with two minors were arrested on 9 March 2020 without any evidence against them on that date. The CD containing the video footage of the incident was accepted by the Investigating Officer on 10 March 2020.
It was further argued that the preliminary charge sheet was filed against the accused without any evidence. Later, two witnesses were charged against him, whose statements were recorded on 5 May 2020. This is clearly a case of false allegation and hence, all the accused are liable to be discharged.
According to the prosecution, on 24 February 2020, information was received in the police station Gokulpuri that some people are destroying the mosque located on Gokulpuri main road, Sabhapur and about 15-20 people are trapped inside the mosque.
A fire brigade had also reached the spot which was dousing the fire in the mosque. No one was found trapped in the mosque.
The prosecution said that around 400-500 people had gathered at the spot with wooden and iron rods. They were vandalizing the area as well as arson.
Accordingly, an FIR was registered in this regard. The investigating officer had also prepared a rough site plan of the spot. No CCTV was found near the spot and hence no footage could be collected. Later a constable got the video from the informer. The video was of the incident in which all the accused including two minors were seen rioting.
Additional Sessions Judge Virendra Bhati Charges were framed against Deepak, Prince and Shiva under sections related to rioting, unlawful assembly, theft, mischief and arson of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The court framed charges against the accused on the basis of the statements of two public witnesses Sharim and Sajid, a video containing the visuals of the accused persons and the CFSL report of the video.
On the issue of delay in recording the statements of two witnesses, the Court said, “It needs to be kept in mind that due to the atmosphere of panic and trauma caused by the unprecedented riots in the North-East district of Delhi with effect from 24.02. As on 27.02.2020, the public was hurt to such an extent that no one was ready to come forward and give a statement to the police as to what they had witnessed about the incidents of violence. That is why the delay in recording the statements of the above two witnesses, this In the case, fatality cannot be held in the case of the prosecution at this stage when the charges against the accused are to be decided.
“It would be highly unfair to disbelieve the statement of witnesses on the threshold without examining their statement on the test of cross-examination during the trial,” the court said. Thus, the Court prima facie found sufficient material for framing of charges against the accused persons.
special public prosecutor (SPP) submitted that all the three accused, identified as rioters, ransacked and set ablaze the Janata Masjid on 24 February 2020 by two public witnesses, Sharim and Sajid.
He further added that the accused persons are clearly visible in the video footage. Charges of all the offenses mentioned in the chargesheet have been made against all the persons.
On the other hand, the defense lawyers argued that the accused in this case along with two minors were arrested on 9 March 2020 without any evidence against them on that date. The CD containing the video footage of the incident was accepted by the Investigating Officer on 10 March 2020.
It was further argued that the preliminary charge sheet was filed against the accused without any evidence. Later, two witnesses were charged against him, whose statements were recorded on 5 May 2020. This is clearly a case of false allegation and hence, all the accused are liable to be discharged.
According to the prosecution, on 24 February 2020, information was received in the police station Gokulpuri that some people are destroying the mosque located on Gokulpuri main road, Sabhapur and about 15-20 people are trapped inside the mosque.
A fire brigade had also reached the spot which was dousing the fire in the mosque. No one was found trapped in the mosque.
The prosecution said that around 400-500 people had gathered at the spot with wooden and iron rods. They were vandalizing the area as well as arson.
Accordingly, an FIR was registered in this regard. The investigating officer had also prepared a rough site plan of the spot. No CCTV was found near the spot and hence no footage could be collected. Later a constable got the video from the informer. The video was of the incident in which all the accused including two minors were seen rioting.
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