New Delhi: A court acquitted five men accused of rioting, vandalism and arson at Allah Wali Mosque during the Feb 2020 riots in northeast Delhi, citing serious flaws in the prosecution’s investigation, contradictory witness testimonies and inadmissible electronic evidence.
Ankit, Sourabh Sharma, Rohit, Rahul Kumar and Sachin were facing trial in FIR 104/2020 registered at Karawal Nagar police station. The prosecution alleged that they were part of a mob of around 200 people that had attacked and set fire to the mosque in SBS Colony around 11am on Feb 25, 2020. Ahmed testified that the vandalism and arson had occurred only once, around 8.15pm. Ahmed said he had remained confined in his house for four days and specifically denied any incident at 11am on Feb 25.
The court observed that had a second attack taken place, Ahmed would have “witnessed it from his house, making it probable that no such incident occurred at the alleged time”. However, judge Parveen Kumar Singh pointed to glaring contradictions between the testimonies of the prosecution’s key police witnesses and an independent eyewitness, Ali Ahmed , who lives directly opposite the mosque. Both police officers had also testified in another case that they were at a school in Karawal Nagar, rescuing people between 10am and 11am that day, leading to the court surmising how they could simultaneously be present at two places.
Another claim by a police officer that he had rescued Ahmed and his family was contradicted by the latter’s testimony that he remained inside his house for four days. The officers also faltered in identifying the accused during the trial, repeatedly confusing their identities while viewing the video footage.
The judge rejected the electronic evidence, holding that the forensic laboratory’s DVDs lacked Section 65B (Indian Evidence Act) certificates, which would have made them admissible in court. Holding that the prosecution had failed to establish the accused’s involvement beyond reasonable doubt, the court acquitted all five.