Delhi riots: Only intended to scare, not kill, says man who pointed gun at cop

Shahrukh Pathan, who is in judicial custody for pointing a pistol at a policeman during the north-east Delhi riots in February last year, moved a bail plea before the city court on Thursday, stating that he only intended to scare the policeman and not kill him

Shahrukh Pathan, who is in judicial custody for pointing a pistol at a policeman during the north-east Delhi riots in February last year, moved a bail plea before the city court on Thursday, stating that he only intended to scare the policeman and not kill him.

Photos of Pathan pointing a gun at head constable Deepak Dahiya were widely on social media and he was arrested on March 3, 2020. (Sourced)

Photographs of Pathan pointing a gun at head constable Deepak Dahiya were widely on social media and he was arrested on March 3, 2020. Pathan is currently lodged in Tihar Jail. He is facing charges of rioting with a deadly weapon, attempt to murder, assault, and obstructing public servants in the discharge of duty under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Arms Act.

Seeking bail for Pathan, senior advocate Maneka Guruswamy told the court that no offence of attempt to murder was made out against her client. Guruswamy said Pathan did not shoot Dahiya, instead he only asked the policeman to step back.

To prove her point, the counsel played a 26-second video of the alleged incident in the court and said Pathan fired two shots — one in the air and second to his right — following which he had a heated conversation with Dahiya and turned back.

Additional sessions judge Amitabh Rawat asked the lawyer to replay the video and pointed towards the position of Pathan’s gun just before he fired in the air.

“Look at the position of his gun. It is not pointed up. It is straight (at Dahiya). When he is taking aim, it is straight,” the judge noted.

The advocate, however, clarified that neither of the two gunshots was aimed at the head constable.

“The state’s case is based on Dahiya. He is the potential victim and he was not fired at. The first (shot) is in the air and the second is to the right,” she said.

“If I (counsel speaking for the accused) wanted to shoot him, I would have but that was not the intention. I turned around and ran away. Does any of this demonstrate the intention to kill or shoot him? At best, this is the intention to scare….We had a conversation as heated as it can be and then we retreated. Where is the intention to kill? Guruswamy said.

Special public prosecutor Anuj Handa, appearing for the police, said Pathan had clearly pointed the gun at the policeman.

Opposing Guruswamy’s arguments that Pathan had no intention to kill Dahiya, Handa said, “The gun is pointed slightly downwards directly at the head of the complainant. His (Pathan’s) hand going upwards is because of the recoil after shots are fired.”

“The question I ask myself is this, during the first part of the video, he shoots in different directions of the mob, who might be belonging to a different community. Suppose any person succumbed to injuries, would the offence not have been made out? the prosecutor said.

Communal clashes broke out in north-east Delhi in February 2020, after a standoff between the Citizenship (Amendment) Act supporters and opposers got out of control, leaving at least 53 people dead and over 700 injured.