Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
New Delhi
There was a well hatched conspiracy in the murder of a local youth during the northeast Delhi riots as in order to take revenge from the Muslims, the accused, who failed to perceive the “bottomless stupidity” of the propaganda, created a WhatsApp group as “saviours” of their community, a Delhi court has observed.
The court made these observations while taking cognisance of the charge sheet filed against 11 persons in the case of the alleged murder of Aamir Khan, whose body was found in a nearby drain in the Gokulpuri area.
Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Purushottam Pathak said there was no doubt about it that prima-facie case for commission of the offence, as alleged, did exist.
The court will next hear arguments on framing of charges against the accused in the case.
The incident took place when those against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the ones supporting it clashed in Delhi in February this year.
In its July 20 order, the court further said: “The accused—Lokesh Kumar Solanki, Pankaj Sharma, Sumit Chaudhary, Ankit Chaudhary, Prince, Rishabh Chaudhary, Jatin Sharma, Vivek Panchal and Himanshu Thakur—have committed an offence under sections 302 (murder), 144 (unlawful assembly), 147 and 148 (rioting), 149 (unlawful assembly), 201 (disappearance of evidence), 395 (dacoity), 396 (dacoity with murder), 427, 432 and 435 (mischief), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.
“The accused persons namely Pawan Kumar has committed the offence under sections 412 (dishonestly receiving property stolen in the commission of dacoity), 201 IPC and accused Lalit Kumar has committed the offence under section 412 IPC,” it said.
The offences carry a maximum punishment of death penalty.
The court said the members of the WhatsApp group, named ‘Kattar Hindu Ekta’, lost their individuality and started working with mob mind and sacred slogans “deadened” their mind.
“From the investigation and the statements of the witnesses, and the charge sheet, it is prima facie revealed that there was a well hatched conspiracy amongst the accused persons. Same is evident from the fact that in order to take revenge from Muslims some youths of that area who failed to perceive the bottomless stupidity of the propaganda, they as saviours of their community created a WhatsApp group,” it said.
“The group members lost their individuality and started working with mob mind. ‘Jai Sri Ram’ and ‘Har Har Mahadev’ which are the sacred slogans and are attached to the victorious yelling, deadend their mind and paralyzed their creative nature,” it said.
The mob turned into rioters and allegedly caused death of Aamir by inflicting multiple injuries in a brutal manner and to conceal the evidence threw his body in the drain, the court said.
“It has been found that the common object of the unlawful assembly was not only to kill but also to destroy all evidence of that crime… There cannot be any doubt that the accused who killed Aamir Khan were certainly up to their neck in the conspiracy and were thus very active members of the unlawful assembly,” it said.
It was also clear that there were averments in respect of promoting enmity between different groups on the ground of religion and acting in a way that are prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony, the court noted.
“In a case where a group of people conspired, thereafter assembled to take revenge and where the victims have been targeted on the basis of their religious identity, the relevant provisions of law attracting relevant offences should have been mentioned in the Charge Sheet. Further no Sanction has been obtained in this regard,” it added.
According to the charge sheet filed on June 4, emphasis was laid on the calls made to the police control room (PCR) during the riots in the area.
