Court orders framing of charges against Tahir Hussain, nine others in a 2020 riots case

A court here has ordered the framing of charges against former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain and nine other people in a case related to the 2020 north-east Delhi riots

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A court here has ordered the framing of charges against former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain and nine other people in a case related to the 2020 north-east Delhi riots. The charges were framed against Mr. Hussain, his brother Mohammed Shahdab and his aides, under various IPC sections, including 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 435 (mischief by explosive substance) and 450 (house trespass).

The court cited the statement of an eyewitness, Shyam Bihari Mittal, who claimed to have seen people throwing stones and petrol bombs from the roof of Mr. Hussain’s house, and said, “Such evidence shows that the mob was instigated by Tahir Hussain to indulge in vandalism, loot and arson in the properties and shops situated in that area.”

The court, however, discharged three accused persons, Deepak Singh Saini, Mahak Singh, and Navneet, saying the prosecution could not bring on record any “admissible” evidence which could establish that they were part of the mob.

The court was hearing a case against 13 people accused of being part of a riotous mob that looted and torched three shops in Moonga Nagar in north-east Delhi’s New Mustafabad on February 24, 2020.

Three people — Irshad Ali, Mohammed Zahid and Gunjan Sachdeva — had alleged in separate complaints that rioters had looted and vandalised their shops.