No bail for northeast Delhi riot accused caught on camera

NEW DELHI: A man accused of rioting has been denied bail as a video footage showed him being part of a mob running away with a crate of soft beverage Rooh Afza during the northeast Delhi riots.Chief metropolitan magistrate Purshottam Pathak said, “I have seen the video footage… where the applicant is present in the mob and is seen carrying a crate of Rooh Afza from the godown of victim Zakir Malik.” It also came on record that at least five shops were vandalised, looted and set on fire.Besides rioting, Dinesh Singh has been accused of robbery and “terrorising” the complainant. Special public prosecutor Manoj Chaudhary elaborated on Singh’s alleged role in rioting, vandalising, looting and arson of public and private properties, alleging that he was part of an unlawful assembly.Police relied on the CCTV footage to argue that Singh was carrying a crate of the beverage from the victim’s warehouse. However, his role in the rioting was yet to be determined by police. Some co-accused are yet to be arrested, police said.Singh’s counsel, Manoj Chauhan, sought bail on the ground that he is the sole breadwinner of the family and has hypertension and diabetes, besides his wife having a tumour. Chauhan also cited a delay in filing the complaint on June 19 while the incident took place on February 24, 2020.By the police account, the case attracts charges of just theft and robbery, Chauhan said. The bail was also sought on the ground that another accused was released earlier.An FIR was registered on the complaint of Abdul Rashid, whose shop was looted and set ablaze on February 24. While the investigation was on, Malik complained to police that his wholesale agency of soft drinks and beverages at Karawal Nagar was ransacked.The court observed Singh’s role had to be ascertained in other cases too. The accused has been arrested only on July 13 and the investigation regarding him is at an initial stage, it pointed out.