Discrepancy in witness statement; no sign of accused in video material: Court grants bail

New delhi: In yet another indictment of the Delhi Police's probe in the north-east Delhi riots cases, a local court here observed that an accused is not present in any of the 11 CCTV footages produced by the police and granted bail to him, also pointing out discrepancies in the witness statements.

The court noted that the statement of the witness in the case was recorded in a matter on March 11 and later his statement was also recorded in a connected case where he did not name the accused, "however, thereafter all of a sudden in the present matter he specifically named the applicant though his statements recorded under Section 161 CrPC on March 28 and April 24, which prima facie appears to be omnibus

statements."

Additional Sessions Judge Vinod Yadav, in his order, also said "the applicant has neither been named in the FIR nor there are any specific allegations against him," adding the accused is neither visible in any of the eleven CCTV footages obtained by the investigating agency nor any CDR location of the applicant is available to establish his presence at the spot of the incident.

Advocate Salim Malik, representing the accused, Kasim, argued that his client has been falsely implicated in the case while submitting that the two constables, who identified the accused, are "stock witnesses."

Granting bail to Kasim on a personal bond of Rs. 20,000, the court also pointed out the discrepancy in the identification of the accused by two constables as they recorded their statements on June 6 despite seeing the accused indulge in the crime on February 25, "which casts a serious doubt on the credibility of the witness."

As per police, Kasim has been accused of pelting stones on the Hindu community and "inciting the religious feelings of a particular community so as to cause maximum damage to the persons of the other community."

The FIR in the matter was registered on the complaint of one Ajay Goswami, who had sustained bullet injuries in Munga Nagar on Karawal Nagar Road. In his statement to the police, he said that on February 25 at about 3:50 PM while he was going back home from his uncle's house, he saw a mob pelting stones and firing in Munga Nagar. However, when he ran back to a street, he felt a bullet hit him on his right buttock following which some bystanders told him that Gulfam and Tanveer were firing and pelting stones from Tahir Hussain's house.