At hearing related to mosque attack, court notes 'absurdity' of clubbed FIR

New Delhi: Terming the case as "strange" and an "apparent absurdity", a Delhi court on Wednesday took note of an instance of a "clubbed FIR" of one Haji Hashim Ali, where he has been made an accused in his own complaint regarding the burning of his house in Shiv Vihar during the north-east Delhi riots last year.

Additional Sessions Judge Vinod Yadav in his order stated that it was "really strange" that the complaint with regard to burning of house of Hashim Ali was clubbed with the complaint of one Naresh Chand, registered at Karawal Nagar police station, and later on Ali was arrested in the same matter, "meaning thereby that he is not only complainant in the matter, but also an accused, which is an apparent absurdity".

Millennium Post, as part of its series on the one year since the Delhi riots, had highlighted Ali's case where his complaint pertaining to the burning and vandalism of his two-story house was "tagged" with Naresh Chand's FIR for vandalism, where he has been named as an accused. Ali was subsequently arrested in the case in April and was released on bail in around mid-May, last year.

The court made these remarks while hearing a matter related to the burning and desecration of the Medina Masjid in Shiv Vihar on February 25, when a mob allegedly broke into the mosque after a power cut and set two LPG cylinders on fire thereby causing an explosion inside the premises. After being released on bail, Ali had made a complaint to police as a witness to the incident.

Reportedly, a saffron flag was also planted atop the mosque by a local, who has been named as an accused in the complaint by Ali, a member of the management committee of the mosque, that includes 14 others.

In an earlier hearing, the Delhi Police had filed a response stating that there was no evidence against the people accused of participating in an armed mob which went on to torch the Medina Masjid. Following this, on February 2, a court had ordered the police to file a separate FIR into the incident, observing that it constituted a cognizable offence.

The court observed that according to police, an FIR had already been registered at the Karawal Nagar police station with regard to the incident on February 26, "but no such averment was made by the police before the learned Metropolitan Magistrate (MM)".

"Since the issue involved in this case is with regard to Madina Masjid, the specific complaint of complainant dated June 25 is on record, wherein he has named 15 persons as rioters, who had burnt and desecrated the Madina Masjid," the court stated, adding that however, there was nothing on record to show any investigation that has been conducted into the incident.

ASJ Yadav further directed DCP (North-East) to file a status report with regard to the investigation carried out in the said case. "SHO, police station Karawal Nagar is directed to remain present in court on the next date of hearing along with the investigation file of FIR No. 55/20, police station Karawal Nagar and the case diaries," the order read. The matter will now be heard on March 25.