Delhi riots 2020: 8 charged with auto driver’s murder, 11 acquitted
A Delhi court has framed charges against eight individuals for the murder of an auto driver, Babbu, during the 2020 North East Delhi riots, while acquitting 11 other accused due to lack of evidence.
In a March 18 order, Additional Sessions Judge Pulastya Pramachala ruled that there was sufficient evidence to charge eight accused—Rahul alias Ajay, Sandeep alias Sanjeev, Harjeet Singh alias Happy, Kuldeep, Bharat Bhushan alias Lucky, Dharmender alias Dham, Sachin Gupta alias Moppi, and Sachin Rastogi—for murder under Sections 148, 153-A, 302 IPC read with 149 IPC, and 188 IPC.
According to the prosecution, Babbu was caught in violent clashes at Khajuri Chowk on February 25, 2020, when two rival mobs—one from the Hindu community and the other from the Muslim community—engaged in stone pelting. Babbu sustained severe head injuries and succumbed to them on February 27, 2020.
Witness testimonies, along with video footage obtained from the BBC, indicated that Babbu was specifically targeted and beaten by members of the Hindu mob. Several public witnesses and police officers identified the accused in dossier photographs and video clips.
“It is not the case that any of these accused persons have been charged only on the basis of disclosure statements of co accused. Arrest of an accused based on a disclosure statement is different from charge-sheeting such an accused. All these accused were duly identified by the witnesses, be it through dossier or in person during the arrest of some of them. If Investigating Officer (IO) did not get all of them identified in the video by the witnesses, at most it can be termed as an omission on the part of the IO. But, such omission of the IO does not wash away the evidence of witnesses,” the court remarked.
The court discharged 11 accused—Rijwan, Israr, Tayyab, Iqbal, Juber, Maroof, Shamim alias Lala, Adil, Shahbuddin, Farman, and Imran—after finding no evidence that they participated in Babbu’s assault.
“The video evidence clearly shows that these accused were not involved in the fatal attack. Instead, they appeared to be sympathisers who later approached the victim after he was assaulted,” the judge observed.
The court found prima facie evidence against the eight accused under Section 148 (rioting with a deadly weapon), 153-A (promoting enmity between groups), 302 read with 149 (murder committed by unlawful assembly) and 188 (violation of prohibitory orders under Section 144 Code for Criminal Procedure) of the Indian Penal Code.
However, charges of conspiracy under Section 120-B IPC and making inflammatory statements under Section 505 IPC were dropped, as no solid evidence was found.
The judge emphasised that the common object of the Hindu mob was to incite violence, and the accused were actively involved in the fatal assault on Babbu. Statements from multiple witnesses, forensic reports, and mobile phone data further supported the prosecution’s claims, it added.
The 2020 Delhi riots left over 50 people dead and hundreds injured.
