Delhi riots: Court grants bail to man in temple vandalism case

Additional Sessions Judge Vinod Yadav granted bail to Gulfam on furnishing a bail bond of Rs 20,000 with one surety of like amount in the case of alleged vandalism of Shiv Temple, situated at Moonga Nagar in Dayalpur area, by a riotous mob on February 25. The court said he was arrested in the case at Mandoli jail on the basis of his disclosure statement in another case related to the riots.

A Delhi court Wednesday granted bail to a man in a case related to alleged vandalism of a temple during the communal violence in north east Delhi in February, saying that besides his disclosure statement prima facie there was nothing on record to connect him with the crime. Additional Sessions Judge Vinod Yadav granted bail to Gulfam on furnishing a bail bond of Rs 20,000 with one surety of like amount in the case of alleged vandalism of Shiv Temple, situated at Moonga Nagar in Dayalpur area, by a riotous mob on February 25.

The court said he was arrested in the case at Mandoli jail on the basis of his disclosure statement in another case related to the riots. Gulfam was lodged in Mandoli jail after he was arrested earlier in the other case earlier and has been granted bail in the connected matter. The court said there was no CCTV footage available on record to corroborate the prosecution's case about his involvement in the matter.

Since Gulfam was a resident of the locality, his call detail record location was also not of much consequence, it added. “Besides his own disclosure statement, prima facie there is nothing on record to connect the applicant (Gulfam) with the commission of crime in this case. Admittedly, the applicant has neither been named in the present FIR nor there are specific allegations against him.There is no CCTV footage available on record to corroborate the prosecution's case," the court said in its order.

It said there was no independent eye witness corroboration of the incident. “It is further a matter of record that applicant is resident of the same locality/area and as such, the CDR location of applicant is also not of much consequence to the prosecution. The investigation in the matter is complete and charge sheet has already been filed. The trial in the matter is likely to take long time. "The applicant cannot be made to incarcerate in jail for infinity merely on account of the fact that other persons who were part of the riotous mob have to be identified and arrested in the matter,” it said.

The court directed him not to tamper with evidence, maintain peace and harmony in his locality and install “Aarogya Setu” app in his mobile phone. During the hearing, advocate Anish Mohd, appearing for Gulfam, said he was not part of the riotous mob and has been falsely implicated in the case.

Mohd further said there was no CCTV footage of the alleged incident on record which could depict Gulfam's presence at the scene of the incident during the commission of the crime. Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad, appearing for the police, opposed the bail plea saying, Gulfam was arrested in the case in March pursuant to his disclosure statement in the other case. The public prosecutor said Gulfam's mobile location confirmed his presence at the scene of crime on the date of the incident. Prasad further said the investigation of the case was still in progress and many who were part of the “riotous mob” needed to be identified and arrested.

Communal clashes had broken out in northeast Delhi on February 24 after violence between citizenship law supporters and protesters spiralled out of control leaving at least 53 people dead and around 200 injured..