Possibility of witness intimidation; Court dismissed bail plea of Delhi violence accused

A Delhi court has dismissed the bail plea of Sirajuddin, an accused in a murder case related to the northeast Delhi violence, observing that witnesses in the matter are residents of the same locality as the accused and that there is a possibility of the applicant threatening or intimidating them if released on bail.

Additional Sessions Judge Vinod Yadav, while dismissing the bail plea on Tuesday, said that considering the facts and circumstances of the case in totality, the court does not find it to be a fit case for grant of bail.

Sirajuddin was arrested in connection with a case related to the murder of a young boy named Rahul Solanki during the northeast Delhi violence in February this year, in which at least 53 people lost their lives.

"...have meticulously watched the relevant CCTV footage several times. It is clearly evident that one of the rioters namely co-accused Arif had deliberately hit at the relevant CCTV camera because of which its direction got tilted and it started capturing the scene towards Shiv Vihar Tiraha and as such, the relevant coverage of the killer of deceased Rahul Solanki could not be captured," the order said.

It said that public witnesses are residents of the same locality and the possibility of applicant threatening or intimidating them if released on bail at this stage cannot be ruled out.

"From the evidence of a number of witnesses recorded in the matter, it is prima facie apparent that the 'riotous mob' armed with 'lethal weapons' had engaged in vandalism, looting and torching of public and private properties and their main objective was to cause maximum damage to the lives and properties of persons belonging to other community," the order said.

"Therefore, at this stage, it cannot be said with certainty that the applicant did not have a common object with the other persons of unlawful assembly. The 'common object' of this kind of riotous mob can be easily inferred therefrom. This Court is conscious that at this stage the trial is not being dealt with. We are at pre-cognizance stage and this Court has limitations in making in-depth analysis of the statements of witnesses, which are yet to be tested on the anvil of trial," it added.

The court, however, also noted that whether the accused can be convicted in the matter with the aid of Section 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of an offence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) is a "preposterous conclusion" at this stage, as the evidence is yet to be led.

Special public prosecutor Amit Prasad argued that the applicant has been clearly captured in the CCTV footage carrying a lathi in his hands near the scene. He also said that the present case is that of a brutal murder of a young by the 'riotous mob', merely on account of the fact that he belonged to a different community.

According to the Delhi Police, it had emerged during the investigation that there was a deep-rooted conspiracy, which triggered "communal riots in Delhi" in February.

Advocate Msh Kumar Singh, Counsel for Sirajuddin, had argued that the accused has been falsely implicated in the case and has been in judicial custody since March 29.

( With inputs from ANI )