Police today filed a charge sheetagainst 58 people in connection with the Azad Maidan violencecase of August 11 in which two persons were killed and 92injured.
The 3,384-page charge sheet, which contains statements of851 witnesses, was filed by Mumbai Crime Branch in the Courtof Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate P S Rathod.
The violence took place at a protest rally at the Maidanagainst alleged atrocities on Muslims in Assam and Myanmar.
Police had arrested 63 accused, of whom five weredischarged due to lack of evidence. Forty-five people weregranted bail. One more accused is a minor against whom aseparate charge sheet was filed in a juvenile court. Twelvepersons are in judicial custody.
The first arrest was made on the day of riots, August11, while the last arrest was made on October 20. Of thearrested accused, two, namely Yusuf Ahmed Hussain Khan andSayyed Salim Anwar Pasha, are charged with conspiring toengineer riots.
The charge sheet, running into six volumes, has named 20people as suspects including former ACP Shamsher Khan Pathan,religious teachers Maulana Moinuddin Anwar Asraf Sayed, ImamMaulana Sayed Siraj Azhar Mohammed, Maulana Rehmetulla Nooriand advocate Sushil Kumar Punamchand Alwasia.
The charge sheet also said that there were 3,942 unknownaccused, who had been charged with various sections of IPCincluding 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 324(voluntary causing hurt by dangerous means), wantonly givingprovocation with intention to cause riots and 120-b(conspiracy).
Besides, the accused are also charged with offences underArms Act and Damage to Public Property Act.
Of the arrested accused, four are facing charges ofmolestation of two women cops.
Of the 92 injured, 76 were policemen, 2 fire brigadeofficers and four journalists. According to the charge sheet,total damage to property was to the tune of Rs 2.74 crore, ofwhich damage to government property was Rs 33.4 lakh.