On Monday (18th December), the Delhi High Court granted bail [pdf] to two Islamists, Arif Qureshi and Anish Qureshi, in connection to the murder of a Hindu man named Rahul Solanki during the 2020 Delhi riots.
Solanki was shot dead by a rioter named Mohammed Mustaqueem on 24th February 2020 in Shiv Vihar in northeast Delhi. Arif Qureshi, who was part of the rioting mob, was spotted on CCTV footage, carrying an iron road and deliberately breaking CCTV cameras near the crime scene.
Anish Qureshi, on the other hand, was involved in provoking the mob. The duo was arrested on 9th March 2020. They were charged under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) including 147, 148, 149, 153A, 188, 302, 380, 427,436 and 450.
Both the accused were identified by the victim’s brother Rohit Solanki and public witness Ashok Kumar. The Call Detail Record (CDR) also showed that both Arif and Anish Qureshi were present at the crime spot.
A single-judge bench of the Delhi High Court, comprising Justice Amit Bansal, however, granted them bail on Monday (18th December) on a personal bond of ₹35000.
“Taking into account the fact that the trial is likely to take a long time, the applicants cannot be kept under incarceration for an indefinite period of time. Accordingly, considering the totality of the facts and circumstances and the period of incarceration already suffered by the applicants, this Court is inclined to grant bail to the applicants,” the Judge ruled.
Bail petition of Mustaqueem turned down
In a separate order, the Delhi High Court turned down the bail application of co-accused Mohammed Mustaqueem, who shot dead Rahul Solanki.
Justice Amit Bansal noted that Mustaqueem refused to be identified in a ‘Judicial Test Identification Parade and that prima facie there is material to show his involvement in the offences.
“I am in agreement with the submission of the learned SPP (Special Public Prosecutor) that the applicant cannot be granted bail only on account of long incarceration, as the applicant has been charged with offences punishable with death or imprisonment for life. Considering the… fact that material witnesses are yet to be examined, this court does not find any ground to grant bail to the applicant at this stage,” the court said while rejecting his bail.
