On Friday, the Delhi Court rejected the bail plea of Shahrukh Pathan, the anti-CAA rioter who opened fire at police personnel on February 24 after violence broke out in the North-East Delhi areas.
Dismissing the bail plea, Additional Session Judge Sanjeev Kumar Malhotra said, “The right to protest is a fundamental right in a democracy but the right of peaceful protest and open criticism of government policies does not extend to disturb the public order.”
Earlier on May 6, the Karkardooma court had issued a notice to the Delhi Police and listed the matter for Friday.
During the proceedings, Special Public Prosecutor DK Bhatia appearing for Delhi Police vehemently opposed the bail application and submitted to the court that Pathan was the one who led the mob in the area. He urged the court not to grant bail as the investigation is still going on.
Counsel Asghar Khan representing Pathan had sought the bail contending that there was a delay in lodging of FIR and on the grounds that overcrowding in jails which posed a higher risk of catching coronavirus. Khan sought bail claiming that the accused has clean antecedents and charge-sheet has already been filed in the case.
Shahrukh Pathan – one of the first to be arrested in connection with anti-Hindu riots
On the 3rd of March, Shahrukh Pathan was arrested for his role in the riots. The Delhi Police had registered the first FIR in the Delhi anti-Hindu riots case and named Shahrukh Pathan for his role in the riots. Shahrukh was one of the first persons to be arrested during the anti-Hindu riots.
The police had also named Kaleem Ahmad and Ishtiyak Mallik for aiding Pathan on the spot and sheltering him. A weapon was also recovered from Pathan with two live rounds. The police have lodged 48 cases and two SITs constituted by the Crime Branch are probing into it.
The Delhi police had also established that the Islamist shooter was in constant touch with the members of the Chenu gang. The semi-automatic 7.65-bore pistol used by Shahrukh was made in Bihar and was procured by him about two years ago.
Reportedly, Shahrukh was given shelter in Bareilly by one of the friends of his father who is also allegedly a drug supplier.
Shahrukh, son of a drug peddler
The initial investigations had revealed that Shahrukh’s father, Shawar Pathan, who came to Delhi in 1985, is also a criminal and has several cases registered against him on charges of drug peddling and smuggling fake currency notes. He had, in fact, been released on bail just three days ahead of Shahrukh’s shooting incident during the anti-Hindu riots in Delhi’s Maujpur area in broad daylight on 24 February.
The father was reportedly born as a Sikh who had later converted to Islam for marrying a Muslim woman. According to reports, Shahrukh’s mother also is said to be a notorious drug peddler.
Anti-Hindu riots in Delhi
On the day of US President Donald Trump’s visit to India, the national capital had witnessed unprecedented violence. A Delhi police constable has lost his life in the riots that have ensued in the national capital in wake of the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act. Another DCP has been injured during clashes in Delhi’s Gokulpuri.
The anti-CAA riots turned communal in Delhi resulting in severe violence on the streets of Delhi. The anti-Hindu riots that engulfed the streets of Delhi have resulted in deaths of around 53 persons and more than 250 people sustained injuries in the violence. An IB official, Ankit Sharma, was brutally murdered and his dead body was thrown in a drain.
