Zafarabad violence: Court grants bail to two accused

A Delhi court on Tuesday granted bail to two accused who were arrested after protests in Zafarabad against the citizenship law turned violent earlier this month.

Additional Session Judge Gurdeep Singh while granting bail to both Sajid Ali and Daniyal, asked them to pay Rs 35,000 each with a surety of like amount.

It directed the duo to make themselves available for investigation whenever called. They were also asked not to induce threat to anyone acquainted with the facts of the case.

As per the directions, the accused will have to report to the investigation officer (IO) or station house officer (SHO) every 15 days for a period of six months.

The two accused have also been directed to file an affidavit abiding by the terms and conditions of the bail within a week after their release.

During the course of hearing yesterday, Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) A K Srivastav opposed their bail plea on the grounds that they formed an unlawful assembly and threw petrol bombs.

Srivastav said that even though the prohibitory orders were in force in the area, the accused gathered and carried out the rally.

Meanwhile, accused Daniyal's counsel told the court that there is no CCTV footage to ascertain that his client was involved in the violence and hence a case under Section 307 (attempt to murder) cannot be made out against him.

The counsel, representing an accused named Sajid, told the court that his client was not a part of the unlawful assembly and that his name is not mentioned in the FIR.

"Influential people are not arrested because of their status even though their names are there in the FIR," he said.

Additional Sessions Judge Gurdeep Singh asked the Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) why the accused were charged under that section to which he contended that they threw throw petrol bombs at the police personnel due to which two officers sustained injuries.

The judge then asked the investigating officer to produce the mobile phone before the court and after going through it observed that there is nothing contentious in the footage as claimed by the Additional Public Prosecutor.

A total of six people were arrested after a protest against the newly amended citizenship law on December 17 turned violent in the area. The accused were sent to judicial custody by the Karkardooma court.