12 accused in 2020 Delhi riots acquitted

Safety personnel conduct flag march throughout clashes in north east Delhi in February 2020. File photograph
| Photograph Credit score: PTI

A court docket on Monday (March 31, 2025) acquitted 12 males accused of murdering two individuals throughout the 2020 Delhi riots, saying there was no proof on the file to indicate that any of them was a member of the mob.

Extra Classes Choose Pulastya Pramachala noticed that the WhatsApp chats of one of many accused confessing to the 2 murders was not “substantive proof”.

In keeping with the chargesheets, the victims, Aamin and Bhure Ali, have been killed by rioters and their our bodies have been thrown into drains on February 25 and 26, 2020, respectively.

In two orders dated March 28, the court docket stated that the prosecution’s proof concerning the messages being exchanged by the accused confessing to the murders in a WhatsApp group couldn’t be used as substantive or major proof.

“Such posts could also be put within the group solely to turn out to be a hero within the estimation of different members of the group. It is also a boast with out fact. Due to this fact, the relied-upon chats can’t be substantive proof to indicate that the accused, Lokesh Solanki, had really killed two Muslim individuals. These chats on the most may very well be used a corroborative piece of proof…,” the court docket stated.

It stated that the prosecution had relied upon the identical WhatsApp chats to assist the allegations of homicide in opposition to the accused in a number of different instances additionally.

The choose stated that although the offence of homicide was established, their particulars, together with the time and place, weren’t proved. Additionally, one other query that remained unanswered was whether or not the offence was dedicated by an illegal meeting consisting of 5 or extra individuals, he stated.

“It’s only a formality to say that there isn’t a proof on the file to indicate that any of the accused was a member of the wrongdoer mob,” the choose stated.

The choose additionally noticed {that a} key prosecution witness didn’t determine the accused individuals and made a “generalised assertion, maybe primarily based on rumour”.

“I discover that expenses levelled in opposition to the accused individuals are usually not proved in any respect. Therefore, all accused, specifically Lokesh Kumar Solanki, Pankaj Sharma, Ankit Chaudhary, Prince, Jatin Sharma, Himanshu Thakur, Vivek Panchal, Rishabh Chaudhary, Sumit Chaudhary, Tinku Arora, Sandeep and Sahil are acquitted of all expenses,” the choose stated.