NE riots: Two acquitted of rioting, assembly charges

New Delhi: A Delhi court has acquitted two men — Firoj Khan and Mohammad Anwar — who were accused of rioting and unlawful assembly during the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots.The case pertains to a complaint by Surender Kumar Bansal, whose shop was vandalised and looted by a mob. Two of his motorcycles were also set ablaze and he suffered a loss of around Rs 6 lakh. Stating that a mob of 1,500 to 2,000 people was present at the location, the court of additional sessions judge Pulastya Pramachala pointed out various discrepancies in the statements of two eyewitnesses.“...the evidence produced by the prosecution though shows that a riotous incident had taken place on February 24, 2020, but there is no evidence to show that either of the accused persons was part of the responsible mob. In that situation, both the accused herein cannot be held responsible for the incident probed in this case,” the court said.The court said there were discrepancies in the statements of the complainant, Bansal, and head constable Vikas.Vikas had testified that the incident took place at 2pm, while Bansal testified that he was in his shop till 6 pm and till then the shop had neither been vandalised nor set ablaze, the court said.tnn