A Tis Hazari Court rejected bail for five individuals accused in the Turkman Gate stone-pelting case. The court noted the seriousness of the allegations, calling the incident an 'attack on the administration' and not a simple assault.
Tis Hazari Court on Wednesday rejected the bail pleas of five accused persons arrested in the Turkman Gate stone pelting case. Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) Sayesha Chaddha rejected the bail pleas of the accused persons, noting the seriousness of the allegations against them and the initial stage of the investigation.
Court Cites 'Attack on Administration'
"The relentless pelting of stones, damage to government property and the injury sustained by the police officials, while the discharge of their official duties, is indeed not a simpliciter case of assault but an attack on the administration," the court observed.
"Hence, considering the seriousness of allegations, at the stage of investigation, the court deems it apposite to dismiss the applications of the accused persons, namely, Mohammad Areeb, Mohd. Kaif, Mohd.Kashif, Adnan and Sameer. Hence, the bail applications are dismissed and disposed of accordingly," JMFC Sayesha Chaddha ordered on January 14.
Defence Argues Premature Arrest, Alibis
While dismissing the bail pleas, the court rejected the defence counsel's arguments regarding the premature arrest. Advocate M Asad Beig appeared for Kaif, Kasif and Areeb. It was argued that the accused persons were apprehended at around 3 AM on January 7, before the FIR was registered at 10.07 AM.
Kaif was at his house from 7 PM until his arrest by the police. This is established by the CCTV footage. It was submitted that Areeb was at Chitli Kabar at the time of the incident. This location is approximately 1-2 kilometres from the incident site. They are residents of the same locality near the incident site, and their location is in the same area.
On behalf of Adnan, it was submitted that he was apprehended from his house around 1.30 AM. He was not visible in the CCTV footage that the police relied on.
Prosecution Opposes Bail Pleas
On the other hand, the Delhi Police opposed the bail pleas. Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) Atul Shrivastava, Dr. Tushar Kadyan and Anish appeared for the Delhi police. It was submitted that the anti-environment drive near the masjid Faizan E Elahi was carried out in pursuance of the order of the Delhi High Court. Before the drive was carried out, the DCP requested peace, and the police issued a prohibitory order.
Accused persons were involved in stone pelting and instigating other people. Delhi police relied upon the WhatsApp msg and videos. The prosecution said that Adnan's mobile phone contained an inciting message and that he also sent it to some groups. "It was not a simple assault on police personnel; it was an attack on the system," APP Shrivastava had argued.
It was also submitted that Kaif and Kashif were arrested based on their identification in CCTV footage.
In rebuttal arguements, counsel for Adnan submitted that he was not visible in the CCTV footage. Either he can be spreading the message, or he can be at the pot. The offence of attempt to murder is not attracted towards him. (ANI)
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