New Delhi: A court here on Friday acquitted four people accused of rioting in 2020, saying charges against them were not proved beyond a reasonable doubt.
The court was hearing a case regarding the 2020 northeast Delhi riots against Dinesh Yadav, Babu, Sandeep, and Tinku, which was registered on the basis of five complaints.
The accused were part of the mob which committed rioting in the Johripur Puliya locality on February 25, 2020, the prosecution said.
“I find that charges levelled against the accused persons, in this case, are not proved beyond doubt. Hence, accused persons are acquitted of all the charges levelled against them in this case,” Additional Sessions Judge Pulastya Pramachala said.
The court said though aspects such as the formation of unlawful assembly, riot, and vandalism along with injuries to several people were “well established,” as far as the identification of the accused in the riotous mob was concerned, several witnesses did not support the prosecution’s case.
The witnesses said they could not identify any rioters as they did not see their faces, the court noted.
It said the testimonies of two prosecution witnesses, who claimed to have identified the four accused, were “not specific” to any incident being investigated in the present case.
Also, the victims in the incidents did not identify the accused, the court said.
The submission of the prosecution about the mob’s presence in the area was not based on evidence, but a “kind of presumption” and it was not completely established that the accused were part of an unlawful assembly which committed a particular act, the court said.
“Therefore, I find that accused persons herein are entitled to benefit of doubt in the present case,” the judge said.
The Gokulpuri Police Station had registered an FIR against the accused under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, including rioting, attempt to culpable homicide, theft, lurking, house trespass and disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant.
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