Delhi violence: Court dismisses bail plea of 3 accused considering gravity of offence

New Delhi [India], October 18 (ANI): A Delhi Court has dismissed the bail petition of three accused in connection with the north-east Delhi violence that took place in February this year.
Additional Sessions Judge Vinod Yadav, while rejecting the bail petition of Gulfam, Riyasat Ali and Irshad Ahmad on Saturday said, considering the entire material on record, gravity of offence and the fact that the applicants are the residents of same locality and if released on bail at this stage, they can threaten or intimidate the witnesses and the fact that further investigation in the matter is on, I am not inclined to admit the aforesaid applicants on bail.
"All three bail applications accordingly stand dismissed," he said.
Counsels for the applicants has argued that they have been wrongly and maliciously implicated in the matter by the investigating agency. The investigation in the matter has not been conducted in an impartial and fair manner and persons belonging to a particular community have been falsely roped in by the investigating agency.
Whereas, Special Public Prosecutor advocate Manoj Chaudhary for the state strongly opposed the bail, argued that the protests against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) were going on for the last one and half month in the area of PS Dayalpur at Chand Bagh and Brijpuri Puliya along with the other area of North East Delhi.
On 23.02.2020, protests turned violent and protesters at Chand Bagh spread on Wazirabad Road and Karawal Nagar Road as well, upto Sherpur Chowk including Shiv Vihar tiraha and Moonga Nagar. The violence continued till 26.02.2020. During this period, a number of cases of violence were registered at PS Dayalpur and other police stations of North East District.
A heavy damage to government and public property and loss of life was reported and paramilitary forces had to be deployed to control law and order situation in the area.
Advocate Chaudhary also submitted that all the applicants are accused in several cases of violence. They were "active members" of the "riotous mob", which was instigated by principal accused Tahir Hussain. They also remained involved in the act of violence, chanting of communal slogans, arsoning, looting and vandalising the shops at or around the scene of crime. All of them are involved in five other cases of violence registered at various police stations of the North-East District of Delhi. The applicants were formally arrested in the present case on 20.04.2020 at Mandoli Central Jail.
At least 53 people lost their lives and hundreds of others were injured in the violence which took place in February this year in the northeast area of the national capital between groups supporting and opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act. (ANI)