Delhi court reserves orders on bail plea of 3 in Turkman Gate violence

A Delhi court reserved orders on bail for three accused in a stone-pelting incident during a demolition near Faiz-e-Ilahi mosque, amid ongoing investigations.

New Delhi

The anti-encroachment drive. (Vipin Kumar/HT Photo)

A Delhi court on Thursday reserved its orders on the bail petitions of three accused persons in a stone pelting incident that took place during a demolition drive near the Faiz-e-Ilahi mosque in Turkman Gate last month.

The orders were reserved by additional sessions judge Bhupinder Singh of Tis Hazari Courts, on the plea of three accused Mohammed Areeb, Mohammad Naved and Mohammad Athar.

Additional public prosecutor Atul Shrivastava told the court that Areeb circulated videos of the demolition in a WhatsApp group called “Chatter Box” to instigate others on the night of the demolition drive. However, his counsel stated that Areeb’s role was limited to forwarding the WhatsApp messages.

The prosecutor said that the accused had taken several videos of himself at the scene of the crime during the stone-pelting incident and allegedly deleted videos at the time of his arrest. The defence, however, contended that the accused was reporting to his workplace at the time of the incident. The counsel for another accused, Athar, argued that he was not clearly visible in the video footage produced by the police.

A total of 20 persons were arrested by the Delhi Police for their alleged involvement in the violence, which took place during an anti-encroachment drive near the Faiz-e-Elahi mosque at the Ramlila Maidan area on the intervening night of January 6 and 7. Six police personnel were injured after nearly 200 people gathered at the spot to reportedly stop the demolition drive. Only one accused has been granted bail in the case so far.

The Delhi Police’s case essentially revolves around the fact that the accused persons assaulted police personnel and destroyed public property, while inciting fellow members through instigating messages communicated on social media groups.