5 days ago
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A Delhi tribunal connected Tuesday (June 2, 2026) acquitted 5 persons accused of murdering a antheral named Mohd. Anwar during the February 2020 north-east Delhi riots. The tribunal held that the prosecution had failed to beryllium its lawsuit beyond tenable doubt.
Additional Sessions Judge Parveen Singh of the Karkardooma Courts acquitted Lakhpat, Yogesh, Lalit, Kuldeep Sen, and Kuldeep Kumar, who had been charged with respective offences, including murder, rioting, arson, and dacoity, successful summation to crimes nether the Arms Act.
The lawsuit pertains to the alleged execution committed successful Karawal Nagar’s Shiv Vihar country connected February 25, 2020. According to the prosecution, Anwar was assaulted, shot, and his assemblage was burnt by a mob during the riots. DNA grounds established that quality remains recovered from the tract belonged to Anwar and that his decease was homicidal.
However, the tribunal recovered important deficiencies successful the grounds linking the accused to the crime.
Noting that the prosecution’s lawsuit rested chiefly connected the grounds of complainant Saleem Kassar, Anwar’s brother, who claimed to person witnessed the execution from a neighbouring house, the tribunal pointed retired that an probe video and the grounds of the Investigating Officer showed that the spot wherever Anwar was allegedly killed was not disposable from the determination wherever Mr. Kassar claimed to beryllium hiding. The justice observed that the complainant could not person witnessed the incidental successful the elaborate mode described by him. The tribunal further held that Mr. Kassar’s grounds contained “serious departures, improvements and contradictions” that undermined his credibility.
The tribunal besides recovered deficiencies successful the grounds of 1 of the protected witnesses. While the witnesser named Lakhpat arsenic being portion of a mob that assaulted Anwar, helium failed to place immoderate of the accused successful tribunal and stated that nary of the assailants was contiguous successful the courtroom. The justice held that the prosecution failed to found that the “Lakhpat” referred to by the witnesser was the accused facing trial. The tribunal besides expressed doubts astir the reliability of different cardinal witness, noting inconsistencies regarding whether helium could person seen the incidents helium described from the determination wherever helium claimed to beryllium present.
Circumstantial evidence, including telephone item records and the betterment of country-made pistols allegedly linked to the accused, was besides recovered inadequate. The tribunal pointed astatine “major contradictions” among constabulary witnesses regarding the betterment proceedings and held that the recoveries were doubtful. Concluding that the prosecution had failed to found the guilt of the accused beyond a tenable doubt, the tribunal extended the payment of uncertainty to each 5 accused and acquitted them of each charges.
