Court grants bail to 1 arrested for Dec 15 anti-CAA protests near Jamia Millia Islamia

A Delhi court has granted bail to one person who was arrested in connection with protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act near Jamia Millia Islamia University here on December 15 last year.

Additional Sessions Judge Gulshan Kumar granted the relief to Mohd Haneef on furnishing a bail bond of Rs 20,000.

During the hearing, police opposed the bail plea and said allegations against Haneef were serious in nature, and the investigation was at its initial stage.

Police claimed that he was part of the mob which had allegedly turned violent during protests against the CAA in south Delhi's Jamia Nagar on December 15, 2019.

They alleged that Haneef was involved in burning of police booths, pelting stones and hurling petrol bombs at the police personnel wherein several of them were injured.

Khalil A Ansari, appearing for the accused, said Haneef has been in judicial custody since December 17 last year, and no useful purpose was going to serve by keeping him behind the bars for any longer period.

Ansari said Haneef was falsely implicated in the case and had nothing to do with the commission of the alleged offence.

He was at his work place at the time of the incident and was arrested from his residence, the counsel said.

The lawyer said the Delhi High Court on February 3 granted bail to co-accused Danish in the case and Haneef should also be released on bail on the ground of parity.

The court had earlier sent 10 arrested people -- Haneef, Danish alias Jafar, Sameer Ahmed, Dilshad, Shareef Ahmed, Mohd Danish, Yunus Khan, Jumman, Anal Hassan, Anwar Kala -- to judicial custody.

Police had said that some locals, instigated by politicians, participated in the violent protests at JMI and damaged property.

The FIR in the case also named seven others, including local politicians and student leaders of JMI university, in the case but they have not been arrested yet.

The university had virtually turned into a battlefield on December 15 as police entered the campus and also used force following the protest that led to violence and arson in which four DTC buses, 100 private vehicles and 10 police bikes were damaged.