Shahrukh Pathan, who was captured during the 2020 anti-Hindu Delhi riots brandishing a gun at a Police constable, was directed by the Delhi High Court on Monday to submit a new bail application to the trial court.
Pathan was asked to reapply for bail before the trial court by a single-judge bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma.“This court requests the trial court to dispose of the bail application within one month,” the HC said.
He was charged with an FIR (49/2020) at the Jafrabad police station in 2020 for rioting, being equipped with a dangerous weapon, engaging in an unlawful assembly, and attempting to murder an individual.
Pathan’s attorney claimed that since some crucial prosecution witnesses had been questioned after his earlier bail application was denied, the situation had changed. He also sought to withdraw his pending bail application from the high court in order to go to the trial court for support. He further stated that Pathan’s bail application had been pending before the HC since January 2022.
Additionally, Pathan’s attorney claimed that there were no eyewitnesses and that only ‘circumstantial evidence’ had been used to prove the case against him. “There is no CCTV footage of the incident. All those people named in the FIR and those who have been identified are out on bail. This entire case is motivated and fabricated, they have planted witnesses,” he claimed.
Pathan had been ‘languishing’ in jail for about three and a half years, he continued.
On the other hand, the lawyer for the Delhi police cited Pathan’s behaviour when he was imprisoned and said that there has been a time when a cell phone was found from him and he also assaulted the jail’s assistant superintendent. “There has been an occasion where a mobile phone was found on him. There has been an occasion where he attacked the assistant superintendent of jail… All other accused were found in their homes. This accused absconds, was arrested on March 3, 2020 from Shamli, Uttar Pradesh, after a large search operation.”
Pathan was denied bail by the trial court in December 2021. He then moved the High Court in January 2022 seeking bail.
Accused Shahrukh Pathan was arrested in the year 2020 on the charges of opening fire at the Delhi Police officials and inciting riots in the national capital during the Anti-Hindu riots. He has been charged in two cases. He has been booked under rioting and relevant sections for allegedly pointing a gun at head constable Deepak Dahiya during the riots on February 24, 2020. His name is also included in a charge sheet in connection with the Maujpur incident on February 24, where violence erupted between pro-CAA and anti-CAA groups and later spread to other parts of Northeast Delhi.
CCTV videos of head constable Deepak Dahiya standing resolute on duty, fearlessly facing the criminal Shahrukh who fired bullets at him had gone viral on social media.
Two policemen named Raman and Deepak and a passerby Rohit Shukla had sustained injuries because of the violence that had broken out at Maujpur Chowk on February 24. Shukla had then confirmed that there were two groups of people, one of which was shouting ‘AllahhuAkbar’ and protesting against CAA and NRC.
The Delhi Court had later ordered an FIR against Pathan and booked him under Sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting armed with a weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, etc.), 283 (danger or obstruction in public way or line of navigation), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 332 (Voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 307 (murder attempt), 505, 120B and 34 of the Indian Penal Code along with Section 27 of the Arms Act.
