Turkman Gate violence: Six more get bail

New Delhi: A court on Wednesday granted bail to six more accused in a stone-pelting incident during a demolition drive near the Faiz-e-Elahi mosque in Turkman Gate in early Jan.Additional sessions judge Bhupinder Singh granted bail to Mohammad Faiz, Mohammad Affan, Shazad, Shahzad, Mohammad Imran and Mohammad Faheem on a bail bond of Rs 50,000 each. Earlier, the same court had granted bail to 12 others, noting that the prosecution had presented "no specific footage to establish the clear identification of any of the applicants as active participants".
On Wednesday, the defence reiterated its previous argument that the accused were not visible in the footage as part of any crowd but appeared in scattered patches near corners of the street close to their respective homes, most of which within 50-100 metres of the spot.Additional public prosecutor Atul Shrivastava, however, cited recent Supreme Court precedents, submitting that the prosecution was under no obligation to identify the accused in a "clear and unmistakable" manner in cases of unlawful assembly. Even if a particular person cannot be distinctly identified in footage, it is immaterial which accused had what specific role once it is established that the offence was committed while they were present at the scene of crime, he argued.The prosecution also placed on record a video clip allegedly showing one of the accused calling people to join the mob and described it as "instigatory". The defence, however, questioned its authenticity and whether the voice belonged to the accused or was merely a forwarded message in circulation.The defence also argued that the accused met the triple test of bail — no flight risk, no risk of tampering with evidence or influencing witnesses. On the intervening night of Jan 6 and 7, the anti-encroachment drive was launched near the mosque in Ramlila Maidan area and 150–200 people allegedly hurled stones, injuring six policemen.