Difficult To Assume 'Mob' From Muslim Community Would Chant ‘Jai Shree Ram’: Court Raps Delhi Police For Clubbing Complaints Without Probe, Acquits 3

While acquitting three Muslim men in a case connected to the Northeast Delhi riots, a court in the national capital pulled up the Delhi Police for clubbing several complaints with the case without investigation. The court acquitted the three accused in the main complaint and referred the matter related to the wrongly clubbed complaints back to the investigating agency.Additional Sessions Judge Pulastya Pramachala said the charges levelled against Akil Ahmed, Raheesh Khan and Irshad in respect of incident at a shop at Chandu Nagar, Karawal Nagar Road are not proved beyond reasonable doubts. In the case, one Danish complained that his shop, a courier service office, was looted and burnt down due to which he suffered a loss of Rs 6-7 lakh. Police Station Dayalpur later clubbed more complaints with Danish's complaint on the grounds of proximity of place and date of incident. All the accused persons denied the allegations and pleaded innocence, submitting that they were not present at the spot on the day of incident and they have been falsely implicated in this case. Advocate Mehmood Pracha, representing Akil Ahmed, alleged that investigating officer made attempts to plant stock witnesses and make sensational and exaggerated accusations against the accused with ulterior motives. Advocate Salim Malik represented the other two accused.The court in the ruling noted that in the charge sheet, the Investigating Officer (IO) mentioned about 27 complaints being clubbed in this case. However, on perusal of the list of complaints mentioned in the charge sheet, it can be found that name of three complainants were mentioned twice in the list, it said."Moreover, there was discrepancy in the serial numbers in the sense that after serial no.14, there was no serial no.15 and straight away serial no.16 was given in the list. Thus, this list effectively referred to 23 additional complaints, which were shown to be taken up for investigation in this FIR itself," said the court, adding that IO could not point out the 27 complaints when he was cross examined.The court further noted that after more questioning on the aspect of investigation done on the additional complaints and evidence against the accused persons in respect of these incidents, the IO finally answered that he had found evidence against the accused persons in respect of incident at the premises of Danish only and none else."He further stated that he had clubbed other complaints in this case with complaint of Danish because those places of incidents were also situated at the distance of around 100 to 300 meters from the premises of Danish. Thereafter, he further stated that the place of incident as disclosed in complaint of Asif Ex.PW21/A was at a distance of about 300-400 meters from the premises of Danish," said the court.The court observed that the testimony of IO itself makes it "amply clear" that though he clubbed additional complaints in the FIR for investigation, but he charge sheeted the accused persons in this case only on the basis of evidence against them qua incident taken place at the property of Danish, who was the first complainant."In some of the additional complaints, the complainants had mentioned that the mob at their respective places were chanting slogan of "Jai Shree Ram". One complainant namely Shahnawaz in his complaint Ex.PW12/A had mentioned name of Bhullu and Lala being part of the mob at his place. However, IO did not say anything in the charge sheet or in his examination in chief, about such allegations made in the respective complaints and the investigation done by him on the basis of such allegations. It is very difficult to assume that it would have been a mob of persons from Muslim community, who would have been chanting slogan of "Jai Shree Ram" while indulging into riot and vandalism. I say so also because it is so projected by prosecution also that a communal riot had taken place," said the court.It further said that even in the statement recorded by IO, one witness had mentioned about there being two groups confronting each other and resulting into riots. "IO in his cross examination in respect of investigation done on additional complaints, though claimed to have made inquiry from respective complainants, but he could not come up with satisfactory account of further investigation, if done by him. Thus, it is amply clear that all the additional complaints clubbed in this case were not completely investigated," said the court.The judge further went on to say that IO was even not aware of the time when such incidents took place and that apparently that there was "no logical ground" with the police officer to club those complaints in the present FIR. "It appears to have been so done in very casual manner. Hence, I find that all these complaints are wrongly clubbed in the present FIR in mechanical manner and were not investigated," said the court, while refusing to deal with those...

Difficult To Assume 'Mob' From Muslim Community Would Chant ‘Jai Shree Ram’: Court Raps Delhi Police For Clubbing Complaints Without Probe, Acquits 3

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