New Delhi: “Aane do, in m**** ka s*** bna denge (let these Muslims come, will thrash and reduce them to pigs); “Tumhare Bhai ne abhi 9 bje k krib b.vihar m 2 m**** mare hai (your brother killed two Muslims around 9 O’clock in Bhagirathi Vihar)”; “Pistol hai humare paas (we have pistols)”—these are some of the messages posted on the WhatsApp group ‘Kattar Hindu Ekta’ created on 25 February, 2020, during the peak of the Northeast Delhi riots that left at least 53 dead and scores of others injured.
Some of the group’s members and their WhatsApp chats—in which they have boasted about “killing Muslims”—formed the basis of the prosecution case in the murders of nine Muslim men who were allegedly intercepted by a mob, beaten up with sticks and iron rods, stoned and also attacked with swords. Their bodies were dumped in the Bhagirathi Vihar drain.
The nine cases lodged in the Gokulpuri Police Station have the same set of accused, except one additional accused in one case and two more in another case. Investigation revealed this group had discussed how Muslims need to be taught a “lesson”.
In three of these nine murder cases, all 12 Hindu men accused were acquitted by a Delhi court on 30 April, with the judge citing lack of substantive evidence, eyewitnesses and unanswered questions on the incidents. Judgments in the six remaining cases are awaited.
While acquitting the 12 men, Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Pulastya Pramachala said the chats in the WhatsApp group cannot be substantive evidence to establish their guilt. The court also said witness statements were confusing and there was a lack of eyewitnesses to the murders, or the identification of the accused. There was no evidence to say where the victims were intercepted and no clarity on which mob targeted them.
Among the victims is Babu Khan’s son Hashim, who was 19. Hashim and his brother Aamir were allegedly killed by a mob and their bodies dumped in the Bhagirathi Vihar drain on 26 February, 2020. Their bodies were found the next day.
This story was originally published in theprint.in. Read the full story here.
