On Friday, the Rohini District Court in Delhi granted bail to Mohammad Ansar Sheikh, the prime accused in the anti-Hindu Jahangirpuri violence which occurred earlier this year. Ansar was arrested on April 17 along with 13 other people. Following his arrest, it was revealed that he was considered the Muslim leader of the area and was the one who initiated the confrontation resulting in the violence.
Delhi: Rohini District court granted bail to #MohdAnshar, the main accused in the Jahangirpuri communal violence case.
— Organiser Weekly (@eOrganiser) November 5, 2022
He had been in custody since April 17, 2022. pic.twitter.com/CU4AJNuEID
Bail was granted to the offender Ansar alias Mohd Ansar by Additional Sessions Judge Satish Kumar of the Rohini District Court. After submitting a personal bond in the sum of Rs 25,000 and one surety in the same amount, Ansar was granted bail.
The accused’s investigation has already been finished, the court claims, and a chargesheet has been filed. A trial, in this case, has also been scheduled in court. The accused should not be kept in judicial custody because the trial would take a long time to finish, stated the court in its order.
Advocate Satnarain Sharma, the advocate for the accused, said that in order to resolve their conflict, the local police had falsely linked the accused to the present case even though he had no connection with the alleged crime.
Following the incident, several reports came up mentioning that Ansar was an Aam Aadmi Party worker and was closely involved in the operations and functioning of the party in his area.
Made Pushpa ‘Jhukega Nahin’ gesture while being taken to court
Riots accused Ansar made the Pushpa ‘Jhukega Nahi’ gesture while being taken to Rohini Court by Delhi Police after the violence. Ansar had previously been allegedly involved in mobilizing people from Jahangirpuri to Shaheen Bagh during anti-CAA violence. As per Delhi Police, he was previously involved in two cases of assault and was also charged repeatedly under preventive sections and booked five times under the Gambling Act and the Arms Act.
#WATCH | Accused in Jahangirpuri violence case being taken to Rohini court pic.twitter.com/UZZPobYZ4n
— ANI (@ANI) April 17, 2022
Jahangirpuri violence planned a week in advance by Ansar
OpIndia reported in April of this year that the incident was planned in advance by the main accused, Mohammed Ansar Sheikh. Ansar allegedly had a meeting seven days before Hanuman Jayanti to plan the attack on the Shobha Yatra, which would take place on that day.
Ansar, who lives in Jahangirpuri’s C block, is said to be the area’s Muslim leader. When the procession reached the Masjid, he is reported to have begun an argument, and when the conversation became heated, the procession was attacked violently.
Ansar had links with Trinamool Congress
OpIndia reported how West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party leader Suvendu Adhikari had said that Ansar Sheikh is close to the Trinamool Congress party, and is actively involved in the acts of political violence by the TMC goons.
The BJP leader said that Ansar regularly visits Haldia in West Bengal and alleged that Ansar was involved in the attack on his car after the assembly elections last year.
West Bengal BJP leaders had said that Ansar Sheikh has close links with Sheikh Ajijul Rahman, a TMC councillor from Ward No 15 in Haldia municipality. Photographs also emerged showing them together, one of them showing Ansar placing his hand on Ajijul’s shoulder.
It is notable that Ansar Sheikh owns a luxurious mansion in Haldia, the industrial town in the East Midnapore district, and he frequently visits the place as alleged by the state BJP.
Jahangirpuri Hanuman Jayanti riots
On Saturday, April 16, on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti, when a procession was being taken out in New Delhi’s Jahangirpuri, a Muslim mob started pelting stones and attacking the procession. Subsequently, riots escalated and guns were fired too.
More than 20 people were arrested by the police after the incident. Further probe revealed that the violence seemed to be a planned one and there was a possibility of larger interest being vested in the riots.
