Worst riots since partition: Court
The riots in north east Delhi in February this year was the “worst communal riots since partition” in the national capital and that it was a “gaping wound” in the conscience of a nation aspiring to be a “major global power,” observed a Delhi court on Thursday.
The remarks by the court came while dismissing the bail pleas in three cases of former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain, who allegedly abused his “muscle power” and “political clout” to foment communal violence.
“The Delhi riots 2020 are a gaping wound in the conscience of a nation aspiring to be a major global power. Even if there were no direct acts of violence attributable to the applicant, he cannot shy away from his liability under the provisions of the sections invoked against him, particularly on account of the fact that his house/building became the hub/ centre point for the rioters and rabble-rousers to unleash the worst communal riots since partition in Delhi,” Additional Sessions Judge Vinod Yadav said.
Charred remains of vehicles at Shiv Vihar in riot-affected northeast Delhi on March 2, 2020.
The court further said the spread of riots on such a big scale in such a short time is not possible without a “premeditated conspiracy”. “So, when the applicant (Hussain) is at the receiving end now, he cannot pass on the buck by simply taking a plea that since he did not participate physically in the riots, so he has no role to play in it. It is prima facie apparent that the applicant abused his muscle power and political clout to foment communal violence in the area,” the judge said.
The judge added there was
enough material on record to presume that Hussain was very well present at the spot of crime and exhorting the rioters of a particular community and as such, he did not use his hands and fists, but rioters as “human weapons”, who on his instigation could have killed anybody.
Senior advocate K K Manan, appearing for Hussain, claimed that he has been falsely implicated in the matter by the police and his political rivals with the sole purpose of harassing him by abuse of the machinery of law.