New Delhi: A court here has convicted a father-son duo for rioting and arson in a case of the 2020 North East Delhi riots, saying the prosecution proved the charges against them beyond reasonable doubt.
Additional Sessions Judge Pulastya Pramachala was hearing a case against Mithhan Singh and his son Jony Kumar, who were accused of being present in a riotous mob that torched several properties in lane number four of Khajuri Khas on February 25, 2020.
“I find that it is proved beyond doubt against both the accused that they were part of the mob which burnt the property (of complainant Shabana Khatoon)… Thus, they are held guilty of the offences under sections 147 (rioting) 148 (rioting, armed with a deadly weapon) 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy house, etc.) read with section 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object) of the Indian Penal Code and convicted accordingly,” the judge said in an order passed on Monday.
The court posted the matter for filing affidavits on April 19, following which the proceedings on sentencing will commence.
ASJ Pramachala noted the statements of several public witnesses and said it was safe to conclude that an unlawful assembly was formed with the common intention of attacking the properties of a particular community and that the riotous mob engaged in incidents of vandalism and arson.
Regarding the identification of the duo as part of the mob, the judge said none of the public witnesses or residents of the lane, including the complainants, supported the prosecution’s case and refused to identify the accused persons as members of the mob.
The only witnesses who identified both accused as members of the mob were prosecution witnesses Mohd. Tahir and Constable Rohtash, the judge said.
He said Tahir’s testimony was “reliable” to show both accused were out in the lane and that they had joined the riotous mob raising slogans, while Constable Rohtash was the beat officer of the area and saw the duo as part of the mob that torched Khatoon’s property.
The judge said the testimony of the police official could not be discarded because of the absence of the daily diary (DD) entry or a formal report on the incident.
Based on the evidence of the two witnesses, there was “no doubt that both accused persons were part of the mob” that indulged in the incident of arson at Khatoon’s property, the judge said.
The Khajuri Khas police station had registered an FIR against the duo on the basis of Khatoon’s statement. Later, six other complaints were also clubbed with the case.
