North East Delhi Riots 2020: Court Acquits 8 Accused of Murder and Rioting
A Delhi court has acquitted eight people of murder and rioting charges related to the North East Delhi Riots 2020, citing a lack of evidence.
A Delhi Court has acquitted eight individuals accused of murder, rioting with lethal weapons, and promoting communal enmity in a case stemming from the North East Delhi Riots 2020. While the court granted the benefit of the doubt regarding the most severe charges, seven of the accused have been convicted for violating prohibitory orders.
The Case of Babu's Murder
The legal battle centered on a case registered at the Khajuri Khas police station in February 2020. The prosecution's case was based on the statement of one Pappu, whose brother, Babu, an auto driver, was killed during the unrest. According to the complaint, Babu was returning from work around 2:00 p.m. on February 25, 2020, when he encountered a mob pelting stones at Khajuri Chowk. Babu sustained critical injuries during the clash and passed away on February 27, 2020.
Court's Reasoning for Acquittal
Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Parveen Singh noted significant gaps in the prosecution's evidence, particularly regarding the eyewitness testimonies. The court highlighted that only three police witnesses claimed to have identified the accused as part of the rioting mob.
The judge observed that out of these three, two did not testify to seeing the deceased being beaten by the mob. This left the court relying on a single witness who claimed to have seen the incident after returning to Khajuri Chowk from Hedgewar Hospital, where he had accompanied an injured officer, Constable Amit.
Contradictory Testimonies
The court pointed out a critical contradiction in the testimonies of the police personnel:
- The primary witness claimed that he and Constable Bhupender saw persons beating a man with lathis upon their return.
- However, Constable Bhupender, during his own deposition, did not mention witnessing any such incident or any riot-related violence after returning to the area.
- The court noted that Constable Bhupender did not even mention returning to Khajuri Chowk in his examination-in-chief, only acknowledging the return time of 2-3 p.m. during cross-examination, without providing any details about the assault on the deceased.
The Verdict
Based on these inconsistencies, the court acquitted Sachin Gupta (alias Mopi) of all charges. The other seven accused—Kuldeep, Harjeet Singh (alias Happy), Ajay (alias Rahul), Sachin Rastogi, Bharat Bhushan, Sandeep (alias Sanjeev), and Dharmender (alias Dham)—were acquitted of charges related to murder (Section 302 IPC), rioting (Section 148/149 IPC), and promoting enmity (Section 153A IPC).
Despite the acquittal on murder charges, these seven individuals were convicted under Section 188 of the IPC for failing to obey prohibitory orders issued at the time.
Previous Discharges
This ruling follows an earlier development in the case where several other individuals were discharged on March 18, 2025. Those discharged included Rizwan, Israr, Taiyab, Iqbal, Juber, Maroof, Shamim, Adil, Shahabuddin, Farman, and Imran.