3rd March – On this day last year, Shahrukh was apprehended and he is languishing in Jail for more than 550 days. Doing his bail cases as his Case Attendant since then on humanitarian grounds legally because he didn’t harm anybody, neither he has any criminal record. Justice is delayed and has been made complicated. However, many other accused who were arrested on same charges and even had injured innocent people, have been granted bails.
In February 2020, the capital city Delhi saw targeted pogrom against Muslims, particularly those that have voted against the ruling Modi-led BJP in state elections. BJP leaders had used the slogan “Desh ke gaddaron ko, goli maaro saalon ko” (translated loosely as: “these traitors to the nation, shoot those bastards”). A riot in which more than 50 people were killed and over 200 injured comprised mostly of Muslims, at a location which was occupied by the anti-CAA protesters (assuming to be occupied by Muslims) and yet majority of FIR’s have only been registered against Muslims.
It is still unexplained as to how thousands of PRO-CAA protesters were allowed to come anywhere near the vicinity of the area where anti-CAA protest was held and that too when Kapil Mishra had given a clear statement that he would clear the roads, etc.
The riots, according to the report, broke out immediately after Kapil Mishra’s speech on February 23 at Maujpur where he spoke of forcibly removing the protesters from Jaffrabad. However, the Delhi Police failed to take steps necessary to avoid violence. “Deputy Commissioner of Police North East district, Shri Ved Prakash Surya, was standing right next to Shri Kapil Mishra when he said ‘after that we will not listen to the police…”. At this point, the police failed to apprehend and arrest Kapil Mishra and all those gathered to hear and cheered his speech. This indicates that they failed to take the first and most immediate preventive step needed to avoid violence from arising and protect life and property.” The police was coordinating with the mob and the mob kept on chanting, ‘Dilli Police Zindabad’ (Long Live Delhi Police).
The violence raged across the north-east of India’s capital for four days as mosques were set alight, Muslims were burned alive in their homes or dragged out into the streets and lynched. Muslim businesses and property were also set alight. In streets where Hindus and Muslims had lived peacefully side by side, bodies lay bloodied alongside discarded and burned-out cars, bikes, shattered glass and smouldering shopfronts. The police have been accused of enabling, encouraging or even joining in with Hindu mobs.
In many areas of North East Delhi, properties owned by Muslims were destroyed while those owned by Hindus, even though standing adjacent to the targeted properties, remained unscathed. So was the case with the shops. Similarly properties of Hindu owners rented to Muslims were not damaged while the belongings of the tenants were looted or burnt outside the premises. The minority commission report says that the mobs specifically vandalised Muslim places of worship as well as religious symbols, like copies of the Quran. On the other hand it said religious places of worship of non-Muslims in Muslim-majority areas were largely left untouched, and in some cases were protected by the local Muslim residents.
The violence followed an organised and systematic pattern” against Muslims and their properties. The testimonies suggest that Muslim women were attacked on the basis of their religious identity; their hijabs and burqas were pulled off. The MC report cites a complaint of a woman from Dayalpur, describing the Delhi Police busting a
sit-in protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Chand Bagh, which alleges, “Police pulled their pants down and pointed their genitals towards the women stating that they wanted ‘freedom’ and they were there to give them ‘freedom’ and that this was their ‘freedom.’”
The same complaint alleges the Delhi Police dragged a 12-13 year-old girl at the protest.
“While the slogans of ‘Azadi’ (a cry for freedom from the discriminatory laws and practices) were used by the protesters, the police used the same chants of ‘Azadi’ to sexually harass women and attack them, including at least one incident of a police officer flashing his genitals in front of women protesters,” the report said. The report also cites testimony of a woman from Khajuri Khas, who said that some women jumped off an 8 to 10 feet wall to save themselves.
Shahrukh Pathan a resident of Mustafabad stood up to save women protesters when they were sexually harassed and attacked by the goons and when the unarmed police was acting as the bystander at the protest site facing the dissidents. A 23 year old boy rushed to defend the women dissenters, he snatched a pistol from the person attacking on him amidst the riots and fired in Air in rage to deter the public and dispersed the violent goons. The witness police constable Deepak Dahiya states in an interview given to a national media channel that the situation becomes under control after Shahrukh had fired in air, the goons retreated back and the police had then taken control over the area.
Since Pathan was captured on camera pointing gun at a police officer during the Delhi riots on February 24, 2020, he was apprehended on 03.03.2020, case against him was registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for rioting, being a member of unlawful assembly, attempt to murder, and sections of the Arms Act. Denying his bail petition, the court observed, “The accused is alleged to have participated in the riots and has been duly identified. His picture speaks
volumes about the involvement and the conduct of the accused on the said day.”
The alleged offence took place on 24.02.2020 but the FIR was filed on 26.02.2020 (after more than 50 hours of delay) and subsequent to the filing of the FIR, Shahrukh was apprehended on 03.03.2020. There are numerous judgements which states that the FIR must be lodged instantaneously and any unexplained delay in lodging of FIR must be seen with suspicion as it gives room for motivated and after-thought allegations. The FIR lodged against SRK was after a period of around 56 hours without assigning any reasons about delay.
Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court granted bail to two men Shiva and Nitin accused of firing bullets during the north-east Delhi riots last year, saying the injury received to the victim was not a gunshot but by a stone. The high court said it deems it fit to grant regular bail to the two accused on furnishing a personal bond of Rs 50,000 each with two surety bonds of the like amount.
“Considering the material placed on record and the fact that the injury received to Azim was not by a gunshot but by a stone, this court deems it fit to grant regular bail to the petitioners,” Justice Mukta Gupta said.
However, Shahrukh Pathan, who pulled a pistol from violent goons and fired in the air to disperse the violent mob and saved women protesters at Jafrabad has been incarcerated for the alleged offence for the past 550 days.
In our case of Shahrukh Pathan, The HC denied bail citing that ‘the pictures submitted before the Court (Shahrukh Brandishing a Pistol) have shaken the conscience of the Court how petitioner could take law and order in his hands’.
HC further says that “Whether or not the accused had intention to kill the complainant or any person present in the public with his open air pistol shots, but it is hard to believe that Shahrukh had no knowledge that his act may harm anyone present at the spot”.
The criminal Justice system works on the guiding principle that “every person is innocent until proven guilty” and yet, contrary to the principles, Shahrukh has been indefinitely incarcerated ever since his arrest, and has been languishing behind bars for the past 19 months despite the non-commencement of trial. The pertinent question that haunts my mind is “is Shahrukh being scapegoated merely because of his religious identity”? If not so, then why is Kapil Gujjar, Nitin, Gopal amd Shiva (Accused of Firing on innocent Protesters) out and Shahrukh (who fired in Air to disperse the violent goons and saved lives of protesters amidst the Delhi Pogrom) still facing the music of pre-trial detention?
