A Delhi court Tuesday dismissed the bail plea of a man arrested in the case of IB official Ankit Sharma's murder during the northeast Delhi riots in February, saying he and others had been allegedly "instigated on communal lines" by suspended AAP councillor Tahir Hussain due to which they were "lying charged to attack all and sundry from the other community".
Additional Sessions Judge Vinod Yadav dismissed Shoaib Alam's bail plea and said it was prima facie clear that he was part of unlawful assembly which was responsible for brutally beating Sharma, leading to his death.
"It is apparent on record from the statements of several witnesses that the applicant (Alam) and other similarly placed persons had been instigated on communal lines by main accused Tahir Hussain, as a consequence whereof they were lying charged to attack all and sundry from the other community," the court said in its order.
It said there was substance in the arguments of the public prosecutor that there was enough material on record at this stage which clearly identified Alam to be part of riotous mob which had allegedly indulged in arsoning, looting, vandalizing public and private property, chanting communal slogans and attacking the persons of other community.
The court, however, clarified that anything stated in the order should not be construed as expressing any opinion on the final merits of the case as the matter was at a pre-cognisance stage.
During the hearing held through video conferencing, Alam's counsel told the court that he has been falsely implicated in this matter by witness Shamshad Pradhan on account of professional rivalry.
The lawyer further argued that there was no direct evidence against Alam in the case and his identification by Head Constable Rahul and Constable Parveen was false, as it was not humanly possible for anybody to identify a single person out of the mob of 1,500 persons.
Special Public Prosecutor Manoj Chaudhary, opposed the bail plea and said a curious analysis of the statements of witnesses recorded in the matter clearly and unerringly established Alam was allegedly part of riotous mob which had indulged in arsoning, looting and torching of public and private property.
The public prosecutor further said that on the instigation of main accused Hussain, the mob had allegedly committed the murder Sharma. The public witnesses in the case were residents of the same locality and if released on bail, Alam may threaten or intimidate them to desist from giving evidence in the matter.
The Delhi Police had, in its charge sheet filed in June in the case, alleged there was a deep rooted conspiracy behind Sharma's murder as he was specifically targeted by a mob led by Hussain. The charge sheet said that autopsy had revealed that there were 51 sharp injuries on his body and the way Sharma was killed by the cold blooded rioters has shaken the social fabric of the society and instilled a fear in the minds of the residents of the area.
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.
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