Court Denies Bail To Man Seen Shooting Gun In CCTV During Delhi Riots

A Delhi court has dismissed the bail plea of an accused allegedly seen rioting and firing gunshots at people and police officials during this year's February riots in northeast Delhi.

Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat on Friday dismissed the bail plea of Vikram Singh noting that he was allegedly part of the unlawful assembly which had committed the offence of rioting and firing at people and the police resulting in injuries during the violence.

"In the totality of the facts and circumstances of the case and the material available against the accused, no case for bail is made out. Accordingly, the present bail application of Vikram Singh under Section 439 Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) stands dismissed," the court held.

Advocate Ashok Kumar, appearing for the accused, had submitted that Singh has nothing to do with the alleged offence and that he has been falsely implicated by the police. It was further submitted that the accused has clean antecedents and is the sole bread earner of his family.

Special Public Prosecutor Saleem Ahmad while opposing the bail plea submitted that there is a CCTV footage of the incident, in which the accused was seen in the street and holding a brick and a stone in his hands. He was shouting and pelting stones on others, Ahmad submitted.

Singh was identified by complainant assistant sub-inspector Dharambir for allegedly "actively participating" in the riots. It was further submitted that as per Section 149 of the Indian Penal Code, every member of unlawful assembly is guilty of offence committed by every member of unlawful assembly in prosecution of common object.

According to the police, the present case was registered on the statement of Assistant Sub-Inspector Dharamvir Singh of Welcome police station who was present at Shiv Mandir, Babarpur on February 25, 2020, when people had gathered there to protest against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

More than 750 cases were registered in the northeast Delhi violence, in which at least 53 people were killed and several others were injured. So far, over 250 chargesheets have been filed in the riots-related cases in which 1,153 accused have been charge-sheeted.