2020 Delhi riots: Court acquits six of theft, arson charges

Court acquits six men accused of 2020 Delhi riots due to lack of evidence

A court here has acquitted six men who were accused of committing arson, rioting, and theft during the 2020 communal riots in northeast Delhi.

Additional Sessions Judge Pulastya Pramachala was hearing the case against them. It was alleged that they looted, vandalised, and torched a house in Shiv Vihar on February 25, 2020. Later, a complaint about a clinic being set ablaze was also clubbed with this case.

In an order passed on Friday, the Court observed that the prosecution had submitted the digital video recorder (DVR) as evidence against the accused. "However, no witness is there to identify any of the accused persons in the videos," the Court said.

Also Read:2020 Delhi riots: ‘fabricated evidence’, hostile witness and a case of shoddy probe

It said the Investigating Officer (IO) of the case did not take any steps to confirm the appearance of any of the accused in the video clips through scientific examination or by comparing the video with the specimen picture of the accused persons.

"Thus, there is no evidence at all to establish that accused persons are appearing in those videos," the Court said.

It said neither did the Call Details Record (CDR) establish the exact location of the accused persons nor did they establish involvement of the accused persons in the incident.