A local court on Monday granted bail to seven Hindu men accused of murder of a Muslim man during the 2020 northeast Delhi pogrom, saying no serious evidence had come up against them despite the examination of prime witnesses.
Additional Sessions Judge Pulastya Pramachala was hearing the bail applications of Prince, Sumit Chaudhary, Sandeep, Tinku, Vivek Panchal, Pankaj Sharma and Himanshu in the murder case of Amir Ali during the pogrom on February 26, 2020, near Johripur Jal Board Pulia in Gokalpuri, PTI news agency reported.
“I do not find it appropriate to keep the applicants behind bars till the conclusion of the trial, as despite examination of prime witnesses, no serious evidence has cropped up against them. Hence, all the bail applications are allowed and accused or applicants are admitted to bail, on their furnishing personal bonds and surety bonds of Rs 30,000 each with one surety in the like amount,” the judge said.
Amir Ali, 31, and his brother Hashim Ali, 16, were killed and their bodies were thrown into the Bhagirathi Vihar drainage by anti-Muslim rioters during the Delhi pogrom. The brothers were beaten to death when they were returning to their house in the area on February 26 in the night.
The judge said one of the eyewitnesses did not say anything regarding the alleged incident while the other six witnesses did not support the prosecution’s case.
“Just five minutes from home, they made frantic calls to their father between 9 and 9.30 pm on February 26, saying they were afraid because the Hindu mob had gathered outside, targeting Muslims,” Asghari, mother of Hashim and Amir earlier told Maktoob.
After Babu Khan’s call, though, the family did not hear back from the brothers. When they tried to call them, their phone was switched off. They went to the Dayalpuri police station on 27 February.
“The policemen started showing us photographs of bodies that had been found in the drain that morning. We identified our Amir and Hashim,” Babu Khan said to Maktoob.
The bodies were pulled out from a ditch, one brother has been stabbed, the other had head injures from a blunt object.
Shabeena Amir was 4 months pregnant with her third child, as her husband Amir Ali’s corpse was raised from the drainage during Delhi pogrom. They were eagerly waiting for their newborn along with their two children, Alfisha who is 6, and 4-year-old Alisha.
“People who hate us killed our children. The people who have been intoxicated, hate is instilled in them against Muslims, they have killed our children. They were not from outside they are all from here,” the father of the slain said.
“They were killed, their bones were broken, and the sword was pierced into their heads. There were a lot of cuts on their body. Even a beast would have mercy. Rest everyone is born to die. When the courts will open we would know if we would get justice. We will knock on all the doors for justice we won’t get back until we get the justice. Our children’s every drop of blood has to be paid off. We have to fight the fight for justice. We have to get justice for our children and there is no other aim of our life,” Asghari, their mother had said.
The police investigation had found that “during peak rioting, a WhatsApp group Kattar Hindut Ekta was created on the intervening night of February 25 and 26, which has 125 members.”
According to the chargesheet, the WhatsApp group members bragged about “killing Muslims” and “dumping their bodies in the sewer,” and offering manpower and guns when necessary.
