7 fresh charge sheets filed over Delhi riots

A TOTAL OF 39 PERSONS HAD BEEN ARRESTED, CHARGE SHEETED IN THE 7 CASES, 6 OF WHICH WERE RELATED TO RIOTING, MURDERS AT SHIV VIHAR, WHILE THE SEVENTH RIOTING, MURDER TOOK PLACE AT KHAJOORI CHOWK

NEWDELHI: The Delhi Police in the last two days have filed seven charge sheets in seven different cases related to the north-east Delhi communal riots that claimed 53 lives and left over 400 others injured in February. While five charge sheets were filed in a Delhi court on Tuesday, the other two were submitted on Monday and Sunday, senior police officers privy to the cases said.

A total of 39 persons had been arrested and charge sheeted in the seven cases, six of which were related to rioting and murders at Shiv Vihar near Karawal Nagar while the seventh rioting and murder incident took place at Khajoori Chowk. All the seven deaths were reported on February 25, the officers said.

The trial of all cases related to north-east Delhi riots will be held in a special court regarding which the Delhi high court had passed an order on Monday.

On February 25, a police officer associated with the cases said, a clash broke out between two communities at Shiv Vihar and violent mobs from both the sides indulged in rioting, stone pelting, firing of bullets, arson and looting and damaging of private and public property. The violence began in the morning and continued throughout the day, the officer said, requesting anonymity

Three men, identified by their first names Anwar, Aftab and Salman, were killed in the clash during the morning hours. Between 5 and 10 pm, three men from the other community were also killed in the rioting. They were identified as Veer Bhan, Alok Tiwari, and Dinesh.

A total of 11 people have been charged for rioting, murder, criminal conspiracy and other offences in connection with the separate murder cases of Anwar, Aftab and Salman. Twelve persons have been charged for similar offences in the murder cases of Bhan, Tiwari and Dinesh, the officer cited above said.

In the Khajoori Chowk rioting incident in which a man, identified by his first name Babbu, was killed, the police have charged 16 people, for rioting, murder, promoting enmity between different groups, and criminal conspiracy, the police are learnt to have said in the charge sheet.

As many as 100 charge sheets have been filed in as many cases by the Delhi Police, which registered more than 750 cases pertaining to the north-east Delhi riots.