Six convicted of rioting in Delhi in 2003

A Delhi court has convicted six people of rioting, causing injuries to various public persons and police officials, and damaging public property in 2003.

Additional sessions judge Manoj Jain convicted Madan Lal Suryavanshi, Radhey Shyam, Ashok Kumar Dudhiya, Nand Kishore, Suresh Kumar alias Pappu and Prem Chand for rioting in west Delhi in the verdict delivered on July 1.

A case was registered against 18 people in west Delhi's Punjabi Bagh for damaging public property while staging a protest on October 21, 2003 at Rohtak Road in Madipur locality.

According to police, the people gathered there were staging protest and obstructing traffic over the custodial death of one Sushil Kumar.

Later, the crowd started damaging various Delhi Transport Corporation buses and police motorcycles. They also hurled stones at police officials, the police alleged.

One of the accused Madan Lal Suryavanshi, a local leader, had claimed that he had contested assembly election twice and had made several complaints against senior police officials and Congress leaders. He said he had been falsely implicated in this case due to his previous complaints.

Seven people were acquitted by court for want of sufficient evidence against them.

One accused Raju alias Handa is on the run while four accused died during the course of the trial and proceedings against them stood abated.

While delivering the verdict, the court said the "mob staging protest are free to express their anguish but not by causing extensive damage to property and (attacking) police officials".