New Delhi: A Delhi court has acquitted 12 men of the murder charge in a 2020 northeast riots case, observing inconclusive “fragments and pieces” in the name of circumstantial evidence.
Additional Sessions Judge Pulastya Pramachala, however, convicted one Lokesh Solanki under IPC Sections 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups on the ground of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and 505 (statements conducing public mischief).
According to the prosecution, the accused persons were part of a riotous mob that murdered one Aas Mohammad and dumped his body in the Bhagirathi Vihar drain in the area on February 25, 2020.
In a 62-page order dated June 5, the judge noted Solanki was a member of a WhatsApp chat group named “Kattar Hindu Ekta”.
The order said, “I have gone through the messages posted in this group by different members. As the name suggests, the central focus of messages in this group has been to unite the people from the Hindu community. However, on that pretext, messages started pouring in to the effect of abusing the Muslims and messages were posted to call upon the members to assemble, to counter the Muslims.”
Solanki’s messages in the chat group were stated to be abusive, written with the intention to “mobilise and instigate people” against Muslims.
“Accused Lokesh offered to others to help with weapons, etc., which was to incite others to commit offences against Muslim persons, because no person without the authority of law can use a weapon or force against any person,” the court added.
Solanki, the order found, attempted to promote disharmony and feelings of enmity and hatred for Muslim persons besides alarming other group members to commit offences against them through his messages.
The court, however, said the prosecution could not rely upon the chats as substantive evidence to prove Solanki and others committed the murder.
“The chats, at most, could be used as a corroborative piece of evidence to support the substantive evidence,” it said.
The judge said unless the identity of the riotous mob, which committed the murder, was established, “vicarious liability” for the mob’s offences could not be fastened on anyone.
“Thus, in the name of circumstantial evidence, there are some fragments and pieces of evidence, which fall much short to point out towards accused persons except Tinku, as culprit for killing of Aas Mohammad.”
The court said the deposition of the prosecution witness who identified Tinku as part of the mob had “contradictions” and “improbable situations”.
Aside from murder, the 12 accused persons were acquitted of rioting, causing mischief and unlawful assembly, among others.
The accused are Solanki, Pankaj Sharma, Sumit Chaudhary, Ankit Chaudhary, Prince, Jatin Sharma, Rishabh Chaudhary, Vivek Panchal, Himanshu Thakur, Sandeep, Sahil and Tinku Arora.
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