New Delhi: Four years since the northeast Delhi riots left 53 people dead, 183 persons have been acquitted and 75 discharged in 757 cases registered in connection with the violence, ThePrint has learnt.
The reasons for these acquittals and discharges cited by courts included inconsistencies in versions of complainants, faulty charge sheets, lack of witnesses, “artificial statements”, among others.
According to police data exclusively accessed by ThePrint, of the 757 cases lodged, 63 cases were transferred to the crime branch, while one “larger conspiracy” case was registered by the Delhi Police Special Cell. One case with the crime branch was also cancelled, which is done when the investigating team doesn’t find concrete evidence to continue its probe. Around 2,600 arrests were made in total in the riots cases, however, the total number of accused is unclear as many were booked in multiple cases.
Among the 694 cases under probe by the Northeast District, charge sheets have been filed in only 368, or 53 percent of the cases.
This story was originally published in theprint.in. Read the full story here.