Delhi riots: Court denies bail to men accused of killing man near Farooqia Masjid

A Delhi court has denied bail to four persons accused of murdering a man near Farooqia Masjid during the north-east Delhi riots on February 25, while stating that “it is common knowledge that namaz can be offered even in an open place” even as their counsel contended that the deceased man had not gone to the mosque since it was under construction.

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Additional sessions judge Vinod Yadav rejected the bail pleas of Ashok Kumar, Ajay alias Monu, Jitender and Shubham, accused of the murder of one Zakir, who was killed in Dayalpur during the riots.

Appearing for the accused persons, advocate Rakshpal Singh contended that his clients were falsely implicated in this matter as he is the resident of the same locality. He said that one of the witnesses was “planted” and although one of the accused persons was seen in the CCTV camera footage, he was merely trying to defend himself by an attack from the riotous mob of other community. He also stated that the deceased person had not gone to offer namaz at Farooqia Masjid as contended by his brother, also a witness in the case, as it was under construction and there was no roof on it.

He had also said that the statement of his brother is contradictory as there are two different times when the deceased person had gone to the mosque.

However, the court said, “As regards the argument of learned counsel for the applicant that deceased could not have gone to Farooqia Masjid to offer namaz because it was under construction, it is common knowledge that the namaz can be offered even in an open place”.

It also noted that there was an “apparent time difference of about two hours when the deceased had gone to offer namaz at Farooqia Masjid”.

However, it said that it was clearly evident that the witness was not present at the scene of the crime when the murder had taken place and his statement was recorded almost after two months of the incident and as such, “this minor variation at this stage was insignificant”.

The judge, while rejecting the bail plea on July 29, said that the offence was very grave. It said that the autopsy report of the deceased showed that he received as many as 22 injuries, out of which seven were so grave in nature that each one was sufficient to cause the death of any person.

It said that such finding speaks volumes about the intensity of the dastardly act committed by the riotous mob during the communal riots.

It also said that the accused persons were present with the riotous mob at the spot at the time of the incident and thus the riots appeared to have been caused in an organised manner.

“It is also common knowledge that communal riots create fear in the mind of the public at large and also affect the persons who suffer the loss of life or property, which cannot be compensated in any way,” the court said in a six-page order.

The police contended that the accused persons were arrested for the murder of one Zakir (mentioned only by his first name). He was brutally attacked and stabbed by the riotous mob on February 25.

It also said that during the analysis of the CCTV camera footage of a shop in the area, it found that the riotous mob had caught and severely beaten three Muslim boys; and the accused Ashok Kumar was seen carrying scissors tied to a stick while Ajay alias Monu was carrying a sword.

The Special Public Prosecutor said that Shubham was seen carrying a stick (palta) and Jitender was seen pelting stones and as such the riotous mob was armed with “deadly weapons”. He further contended that the accused persons were part of the unlawful assembly/riotous mob that had inflicted severe injuries upon Zakir, which ultimately resulted in his death.