NEW DELHI: A city court has acquitted 12 men accused of abducting and killing a man during the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, citing “major contradictions” in eyewitness testimonies. Additional Sessions Judge Parveen Singh granted the benefit of doubt in the murder of Musharraf, pointing to “weak corroborative evidence”.
In an order dated April 21, relief was granted to Lokesh Solanki, Pankaj Sharma, Sumit Chaudhary, Ankit Chaudhary, Prince, Rishabh Chaudhary, Jatin Sharma, Vivek Panchal, Himanshu Thakur, Sahil, Sandeep and Tinku Arora.
“Prosecution has failed to prove its case against the accused beyond a reasonable doubt, and the accused are entitled to the benefit of doubt. All the accused are accordingly acquitted of the charges framed against them,” the judge said.
The case relates to Musharraf’s death. His body was found from a drain in Bhagirathi Vihar on February 27, 2020.
The prosecution relied largely on the testimonies of the deceased’s wife and daughter. The court, however, found the wife’s conduct “unnatural”. “Neither did she call the PCR nor inform anyone that her husband had been killed. This is highly improbable that in such a scenario she would not disclose, even to her daughter, that Musharraf had been murdered,” the judge said.