Court acquits nine in 2020 Delhi riots

New Delhi: A Delhi court has acquitted nine men in a case linked to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, citing unreliable and inconsistent witness testimonies.

Additional Sessions Judge Parveen Singh, in an order dated March 30, said the testimonies were “general in nature” and lacked specificity, making it unsafe to rely on them for conviction. The accused — Shah Alam, Rashid Saifi, Mohammad Shadab, Habib, Irfan, Suhail, Salim alias Ashu, Irshad, and Azhar alias Sonu — had been arrested in connection with a case registered at Dayalpur police station involving alleged loot and arson in the Chand Bagh area.

The case pertained to incidents including the vandalisation of an Innova Crysta, burning of a motorcycle, looting of street vendors’ carts, and arson at a shop.

The court pointed to serious contradictions in eyewitness accounts, including discrepancies over the date and location of the incidents. It noted that the investigating officer recorded February 24 as the date, whereas the incident occurred on February 25, prompting a witness to formally raise the issue with the DCP. Further inconsistencies were found in testimonies regarding an attack on a news channel vehicle, which did not align with the police’s site plan. Observing that key witnesses had deposed falsely, the court granted the accused the benefit of doubt, acquitted them.