A Delhi court has acquitted six Hindutva men accused of being part of a violent mob involved in arson, vandalism, and looting near Azizia Masjid in Sudamapuri during the pogrom that erupted in Northeast Delhi in 2020, holding that the prosecution “miserably failed” to establish the charges.
Additional Sessions Judge Parveen Singh delivered the verdict on January 31, acquitting Prem Prakash alias Kake, Ishu Gupta, Rajkumar alias Siwainya, Amit alias Annu, Rahul alias Golu and Hariom Sharma.
In the order, the court stated, “I find that the prosecution has miserably failed to prove its case against the accused and all the accused are acquitted of all the charges framed against them.”
The accused had faced multiple charges under the Indian Penal Code, including rioting, arson, attempt to murder, theft and criminal conspiracy. However, the court found that the case rested on manipulated statements and unreliable testimony.
The judge observed that several witnesses had initially told investigators they had not seen any of the rioters, but later claimed to have identified specific accused by name. The court held that these subsequent statements appeared to be tampered with and fabricated.
“The case of the prosecution is found to be a built-up case on the basis of the witnesses who according to their initial statements had not seen any of the rioters but who as per their subsequent tampered, manipulated and fabricated statements,” the court noted.
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