New Delhi:
A Delhi court on Wednesday rejected bail from Athar Khan, a suspect in the larger conspiracy case related to the February 2020 riots in northeastern Delhi. Athar Khan is a suspect in a case registered by the Delhi police. under the strict anti-terror law UAPA for alleged conspiracy.
Additional hearings Judge Amitabh Rawat of Karkardooma Court dismissed the bail request after hearing comments from counsel for the accused and the special prosecutor of the Delhi Police.
“On inspection of the indictment and accompanying documents, for the limited purpose of bail, I believe that the charges against the accused Athar Khan are prima facie true,” the judge said.
The court noted: “Since there are reasonable grounds to believe that the charge against the accused Athar Khan is prima facie true, the embargo imposed by Section 43D of the UAPA applies to the granting of bail to the accused and also the embargo contained in section 437 Cr.PC
The court took note of the statement of protected witness Pluto. Protected witness Pluto stated in his statement that he cooks Biryani. For the riots on February 20 and 21, 2020, five individuals namely Athar, Shahdab, Salim Munna, Saleem Khan and Rizwan Siddiqui paid him Rs. 10,000 for a biryani order and told him that biryani should be sent to Ayyaz’s office in Chand Bagh’s basement. He gave some money in advance and the rest had to be paid for by Ayyaz.
The court took note of the statement that Athar told others that the time has come to set fire to Delhi. Rahul Roy had called him and all preparations were made. Weapons, petrol, etc, are filled. There is no shortage of money and Delhi will be destroyed. Their problems will not be solved until 100-200 people are killed and 100-200 places are targeted. He asked them to be ready and they all said they were with him. In the meantime Ayyaz came and gave him money and he left.
The court also took note of the comments made by counsel for the accused. It was alleged that Athar Khan was initially made as a witness, but in the course of the investigation his role as a suspect in this case came to the fore. It would be no ground to claim that the case itself is false or that the accused is falsely accused.
It was also argued that the right to protest is a fundamental right, but the indictment, as filed, presents the case of conspiracy under the guise of protest. The prosecution alleges a conspiracy that has led to riots.
The defendant’s counsel also argued that the argument of the Public Prosecution Service that the suspect provoked people to give speeches and to use social media is vague. The prosecution has not produced any video or CCTV footage showing the suspect carrying out an attack or carrying a weapon or performing any act that raises any suspicion of terrorist activity. No video has been submitted showing the suspect making provocative speeches.
On the other hand, the bail request was opposed by SPP Amit Prasad. He argued that the accused Athar was one of the organizers of the Chand Bagh protest site where inflammatory speeches were held. This is supported by the statements of several witnesses such as Venu, Gold, HC Sunil and Ct. Sunil and Ct. gyan.
It was also alleged that the suspect Athar was present in northeast Delhi at the time of the riots. The accused had ties to suspects namely Devangana, Meeran, Gulfisha, Khalid, Ishrat, Shadab, Natasha and Safoora, Saleem Khan, Saleem Malik, Shadab and Suleman (declared offender).
According to the indictment, the accused Athar participated in the conspiracy. There is no need for every suspect to play a role in every aspect of the conspiracy in the case of a conspiracy, the SPP had argued.
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