Court rejects 10th bail plea of 2020 Delhi riots case accused

A court here on Friday rejected the 10th bail plea of an accused in a case related to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, saying the relief cannot be granted only because one of the eyewitnesses did not support the prosecution's case.

Additional Sessions Judge Pulastya Pramachala was hearing the application of Shoaib Alam alias Bobby, who has been accused of being a part of a riotous mob that looted and torched articles in a godown near Chand Bagh Pulia in northeast Delhi on February 25, 2020.

According to the prosecution, the mob comprised around 50 associates of former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Tahir Hussain.

Special Public Prosecutor Madhukar Pandey appeared in the court for the Delhi Police.

The court considered the change in material circumstances after Alam's last bail plea was dismissed on merits by the high court in March last year.

It said one of the eyewitnesses, Shamshad Pradhan, did not support the prosecution's case, while two other police witnesses supported it.

The court said another eyewitness, Pradeep Verma, is yet to be examined.

''In such a situation, just because one of the cited eyewitnesses, Shamshad Pradhan, did not support the case of the prosecution, it cannot be said that sufficient ground has come on record in favour of the applicant to release him on bail. Hence, the application is rejected,'' the court said.

It also rejected the fourth bail plea of another accused in the case, Gulfam, after making identical observations.

The Khajuri Khas police station had registered an FIR against the duo.

The communal riots in northeast Delhi in February 2020 left 53 people dead and more than 700 injured.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)