High Court Denies Bail To 2 Accused In Officer's Murder During Delhi Riots

The Delhi High Court has dismissed the bail pleas of two men accused of killing an Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer during riots in the north east part of the national capital last year, saying they have been "playing hide and seek with the prosecution".

Justice Suresh Kumar Kait said in the facts and circumstances of the case where life of a young intelligence officer has been lost, the court is not persuaded to take a lenient view towards the two accused.

The court said that the trial was already in progress in the instant case and the accused will have an opportunity to make a case for bail at the appropriate stage during the course of trial.

The order came on the pleas by Sameer Khan and Kasim challenging the denial of the bail by trial court in October last year and February this year, respectively.

Both of them claimed before the high court that they were falsely implicated in the case and there was no evidence on record to connect them to the killing of the IB officer.

The prosecution had vehemently opposed the bail pleas of the two accused, saying they were not only part of the large mob which caused destruction of public property but were part of the group which took the life of IB officer Ankit Sharma.

The prosecution told the high court that according to the post-mortem report, the IB officer had died due to shock and haemorrhage on account of injuries to his lung and brain.

The court noted that the post-mortem also revealed that Mr Sharma had suffered 52 injuries which were inflicted by sharp edged and heavy cutting weapons and rest were by blunt force and all were fresh before death.

The prosecution also told the court the two accused were bad characters of the area and other FIRs were pending against them in connection with the riots and both had been missing for some time before they were apprehended and therefore, if bail was granted to them, there was every likelihood they would flee again.