A court here has granted bail to a man in a case related to February’s communal clashes in northeast Delhi, saying it is clear from the CCTV footage that he was not part of a riotous mob and was unarmed.
Additional Sessions Judge Vinod Yadav granted the relief to Mohammad Mobin Ali on furnishing a bail bond of Rs 20,000 and a surety of a like amount.
“Apparently, the CCTV footage is in two parts. In the first part, the co-accused persons namely Mohammad Javed Khan, Mohammad Anas and others are clearly seen with swords, sticks etc. in their hands whereas, in the second part, the applicant (Mobin) is seen. He is clearly unarmed and appears to be very cool, calm and composed.
“From the very perusal of the CCTV footage, it is clearly apparent that the applicant does not appear to be part of a riotous mob,” the court said in its order passed on Friday.
The court directed that Mobin should maintain peace and harmony in the New Usmanpur locality and not tamper with the evidence or influence any witness in the case.
It also directed him to appear before the court on each and every date of hearing in the case.
It said he should furnish his mobile phone number to the station house officer of the New Usmanpur police station upon his release from jail and install the “Aarogya Setu” mobile application on his phone.
The court, however, clarified that anything stated in the order should not be construed as expressing any opinion on the merits of the case as it is at the pre-cognisance stage.
During the hearing held through video-conferencing, advocate M Gulzar Ali, appearing for Mobin, told the court that there was an apparent delay of about 24 hours in lodging the FIR in the matter and that his client was not named in it.
He further contended that Mobin (45) is not in the same age group as that of the other rioters.
There were two CCTV cameras at the scene of the crime, which is quite near to the “Phool Wali Masjid”, and Mobin was merely seen coming from the mosque and going towards his house, which is in the vicinity, the lawyer said.
Special Public Prosecutor Saleem Ahmed, appearing for the state, opposed the bail plea, saying Mobin was identified by Raman, who was injured in the riots, on March 13 from the CCTV footage.
He further argued that when a proclamation under section 144 (power to issue order in urgent cases of nuisance of apprehended danger) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) was in place, Mobin should not have ventured out of his house to loiter in the streets.
The court told the public prosecutor that Mobin’s case does not appear to be similar to that of the co-accused, whose bail pleas were dismissed earlier.
Mobin was arrested for allegedly being part of an unlawful assembly, the members of which had indulged in rioting in the area. Raman was allegedly injured by the mob.
A case was registered under sections 307 (attempt to murder), 147 and 148 (rioting), 149 (unlawful assembly) and 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The offences entail a maximum punishment of life imprisonment.
Communal clashes broke out in northeast Delhi on February 24, after violence between the supporters of a new citizenship law and those opposed to it spiralled out of control, leaving at least 53 people dead and around 200 injured.
