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Nuh violence: Congress MLA Mamman Khan gets bail in 2 cases
The court said the bail was conditional on the Congress MLA’s cooperation with the investigation, and would be cancelled if evidence emerges against him
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Congress leader and Ferozepur Jhirka MLA Mamman Khan, who was arrested on September 14 for his alleged role in inciting the July 31 communal violence that broke out in Gurugram and Nuh districts and for remaining in touch with suspects involved in sharing “misleading” and “provocative” posts on social media platforms to instigate others, was granted bail in two cases connected to the violence on Tuesday, said police officers.
Read here: Nuh violence: Mamman Khan sent to judicial custody for 14 days
Khan was booked in four cases connected to the violence at Nagina block in Nuh in the first week of August. He was granted bail in two cases on September 29 but remained in Nuh jail because hearings in the other two cases were scheduled for October 3.
Communal clashes erupted on July 31 in Nuh, 50km from Gurugram, after mobs attacked a Hindu religious procession organised by the Vishva Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal. The ensuing violence barrelled into neighbouring districts and cities, including Gurugram, leading to the death of six people, including two police personnel, with a further 88 injured. Khan was the 331st suspect — but the most high-profile person — arrested in this connection.
On Tuesday, the court of additional district and sessions Judge Ajay Sharma granted interim bail to Khan till October 18, on the condition that he cooperates with the investigation.
The Nuh police opposed the bail, saying that the cyber cell report of Khan’s mobile and laptop was expected within a week and would prove his involvement in the violence.
The court asked the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted in the case to furnish technical evidence cited by them on the next hearing on October 18 and that if Khan’s presence was proved in Nuh’s Nagina in the days leading up to the violence, then his bail would be cancelled.
The court, which heard arguments in the morning, reserved its decision and announced it at 5pm.
“Although it is too late in the day to process the bail, we are attempting to have him released from the Nuh jail so that he does not have to spend another night there,” said Khan’s counsel, advocate Tahir Hussain Dewla, on Tuesday evening.
The jail authorities were yet to receive release orders till 6pm, and officers said that Khan would be released on Wednesday morning.
Nuh superintendent of police Narender Bijarniya said, “Sixty FIRs (first information reports) were filed in connection with the violence. The violence resulted in numerous injuries, vehicle arson, shop arson, murder, and attempted murder. Khan is thought to be the main conspirator behind these incidents,” he said.
Khan also pleaded before the court on Tuesday that all cases related to the violence in Nuh should be transferred to an SIT, to which the police said an SIT has already been formed.
Read here: Three held in Gurugram’s Nuh for selling stolen phones to cyber fraudsters
Khan has got the bail in FIRs 137 and 148 , registered at Nagina police station. He was named as a key conspirator in two other FIRs, 149 and 150, on similar charges.
On September 12, Khan petitioned the Punjab and Haryana high court for protection from arrest, claiming that he was being framed in the case, and for the constitution of a fresh SIT headed by an IG-rank police officer.
The court didn’t grant him relief from arrest and asked him to move a lower court after the Haryana government submitted that his name had been included as a suspect in an FIR for alleged involvement in the violence.
Khan was arrested from Ajmer in Rajasthan on September 14 and on September 19, was remanded in judicial custody for 14 days.
Within hours of Khan’s arrest, the Nuh deputy commissioner had issued an order barring the gathering of five or more people under Section 144 for at least 20 days, and the state snapped internet and bulk SMS services in Nuh for almost a month. A large number of police personnel were also deployed at crucial locations across the district.
The high court will hear his prayer of constituting a fresh SIT on October 19.
