A Delhi court on Friday cancelled the bail application filed by one of the accused in connection with the murder of head constable Ratan Lal during anti-Hindu Delhi riots occurred in Delhi last year.
According to the reports, Additional Session Judge Vinod Yadav rejected the bail plea of accused Tabassum, a resident of Chand Bagh Area of Delhi, saying that her Call Detail Records (CDRs) revealed that she was in constant touch with several co-accused persons to hatch riots. The judge further said that the charges against the applicant were serious in nature.
“Considering the facts and circumstances of the case in totality vis-à-vis gravity of the offence, I do not find it to be a fit case for grant of bail to the applicant. The bail application is accordingly dismissed,” the judge said.
The judgement by the Delhi court further proves that Delhi anti-Hindu riots were nothing but a pre-meditated conspiracy not just to destabilise India, but to target the Hindu population after Citizenship Amendment Act was passed by the parliament.
Rejecting the bail of the riot-accused, the judge noted that it is clearly evident that the protestors and organizers had motivated persons in the mob and certain unscrupulous elements had surrounded the scene of the crime and they appeared to be fully equipped with rioting material like stones, sticks, sharp edged weapons and another sort of raw weapons.
“Even burqa clad women are clearly seen attacking the police party with sticks and other material in their hands and they clearly appeared to be charged up. It has also come on record that some of the persons of the mob had taken possession of the rooftops of high rise buildings at or around 25 feet road, having firearms and other rioting material with them,” the judge made scathing remarks.
Anti-Hindu riots was a well hatched conspiracy, says Delhi court
Justice Yadav mentioned that all this prima facie indicates that everything was being done under a well hatched conspiracy, the common object whereof was to cause blockage of the main Wazirabad Road and if resisted by the police, then to go to any extent to liquidate them by use of force.
The Delhi police have opposed the bail plea alleging that Tabassum used to share the stage with other rioters to instigate the Muslim mob against the Government that finally led to violence on February 24, 2020, which resulted in the death of more than 50 people in North East District of Delhi, including head constable Ratan Lal.
The police also submitted that the mob also attacked the Delhi police officials during the protests that led to Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Shahdara, Amit Sharma, Anuj Kumar, ACP Gokalpuri and 51 other policemen suffering severe injuries. Two senior officers Amit Sharma, Anuj Kumar almost received death blow, while constable Ratan Lal was killed by the frenzied mob.
In her application, the accused Tabassum had admitted having participated in the protest, however, claimed that protesting against some legislation was her ‘legal and fundamental right’, which could not be snatched away from her as it was her ‘legitimate belief and perception that Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA) and National Register for Citizens (NRC) were against a particular religion’.
She further submitted that the investigating agency had not been able to establish the contents of her speech and whether they were inflammatory or instigating. The accused also claimed that participating in the protest against a particular law did not amount to the conspiracy of incitement of violence where head constable Rattan Lal had died.
Murder of Ratan Lal during the Delhi anti-Hindu riots
The charge sheet filed in connection will the killing of head constable Ratan Lal during the violence that swept northeast Delhi in February this year stated that the murder of Ratan Lal was a part of a deeper conspiracy to gin up communal riots across the national capital.
The Special Investigation Team of Delhi Police has filed a 1,100-page charge-sheet in the murder of Ratan Lal and deadly attacks by rioters on IPS Amit Sharma and IPS Anuj Kumar. At least 17 accused have been named in the charge-sheet. There are about 4 to 5 key conspirators in this whole case, which includes Salim Khan, Salim Munna and Shadab. The police stated that the riots were engineered in Delhi through a conspiracy to malign the image of the country.
Constable Ratan Lal was murdered on February 24 when he was shot at by rioters while patrolling along with his seniors. The police had alleged in the charge-sheet that a group of 45 people held a meeting at the basement of a house on February 22, where the conspiracy of the riot was conceived. On February 23, a after the conspiracy was hatched, rioters asked senior citizens and children to stay indoor as they ran riot on the streets, indulging in vandalism.
A day later, on February 24, rioters and vandals again hit the streets, damaging public properties, setting vehicles on fire and causing bloodshed. Around 1 PM in Chand Bagh area, patrolling party in Chand Bagh was vastly outnumbered by a huge crowd of rioters. Senior police officials tried to placate the riotous mob but the crowd turned violent and attacked police. Head constable Ratan Lal was shot dead by the rioters. Amit Sharma, Anuj Kumar and several policemen received serious injuries, the charge-sheet said.
