NEW DELHI: A Delhi court has acquitted five men accused of setting fire to a mosque during the 2020 northeast riots, saying the police witnesses were not credible and the CCTV camera footage was “inadmissible” in evidence.
Additional Sessions Judge Praveen Singh granted relief to Ankit, Sourabh Sharma, Rohit, Rahul Kumar and Sachin, who were accused of rioting, unlawful assembly, damage to property and arson.
“I find that these witnesses are not credible witnesses and cannot be relied upon to bring home the guilt of the accused as far as the riot, vandalism and arson at Allah Wali Masjid is concerned,” the judge said in an order dated October 31.
The case relates to violence in the Shahid Bhagat Singh Colony, where a mob allegedly vandalised and set fire to Allah Wali Masjid in Karawal Nagar on February 25, 2020 during the communal riots.
The court said there was a probability that no arson or vandalism had taken place at the mosque, as claimed by the prosecution, since the testimonies of the police personnel regarding the incident “could not be relied upon”.
The judge pointed out stark contradictions between the testimonies of two police personnel, who claimed to have witnessed the mosque being vandalised and set ablaze around 11 am on February 25, and an independent witness residing opposite the mosque.
The independent witness had testified that the mosque was vandalised and set on fire only once, around 8.15 pm, and that he remained confined to his house for four days after the incident.
The court also noted that the police personnel had given contradictory accounts about their movements in the area on the day of the incident, including their presence at other riot-hit locations.
The court also rejected the CCTV camera footage relied upon by the prosecution, holding that the DVDs and hard disks containing the recordings were inadmissible as the mandatory requirements under law had not been fulfilled.