Sole intent was to destroy property of Hindus: Court on Delhi riots

Following the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the country saw widespread protests. Delhi was the worst hit by the riots.

A Delhi court while convicting nine persons in connection with the 2020 Delhi riots case observed that the object was to damage property of Hindus.

The nine-Mohd Shahnawaz, Mohd Shoaib, Shahrukh, Rashid alias Raza, Azad, Ashraf Ali, Parvez, Md Faisal and Rashid were convicted after being found guilty of rioting, unlawful assembly, theft, mischief and causing damage.

The charges levelled against all the accused have been proven beyond doubt. The convicts became part of an unruly mob whose common object was to cause 'maximum damage' to properties belonging to the Hindu community.

The Karkardooma court, while pronouncing the verdict said that the rioters continued on their rampage despite the police appealing to them to disperse and get back. The mob looted articles from the house of the complainant, vandalised other articles on that property and also set it on fire, the court said.

The complainant Rekha Sharma told the police that the convicts gathered in a mob and tried to break open her house. Sharma said on the intervening night between February 24 and 25, the mob broke open the rear gate of her house and robbed the goods from inside. They also damaged the house and set fire to a room on the upper floor, she also said in her complaint.

"On the basis of the evidence in this case and further reasoning. I find it well established that all the named accused persons in this case did become part of an unruly mob, which was guided by communal feelings and had the common objective of causing maximum damage to the properties of persons belonging to the Hindu community," the court said.

Arguments on the sentencing will take place on March 29.

A chargesheet had been filed by the Gokulpuri police station against the nine accused for rioting and other offences.

The court noted that according to the two witnesses, police head constables on duty, a mob comprising over 100 persons appeared from the direction of Mustafabad and began pelting stones. They also threw petrol bombs at shops and houses. The police personnel appealed to them to disperse, but despite this, the mob continued the rampage, the court noted.

The judge said that there was no reason to suspect the testimony of the head constable, Vipin Kumar. The delay in examining the two police personnel did not reflect an afterthought or was artificially done by the investigation officer, the judge said.

Massive protests had broke out following the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Many groups had spread disinformation about the Act in a bid to instigate the Muslim community. At that time, riots had broken out in Delhi and other parts of the country.