Policemen patrol in a riot affected area in New Delhi on February 25, 2020. Photo: Reuters/Danish Siddiqui

New Delhi: A Delhi court has slammed a 2020 riots investigation, calling it “incongruous”, as the man who was a complainant in the matter and suffered a gunshot while escaping the riotous mob was himself named as an accused in the case.

Sajid alleged that he suffered a gunshot injury while trying to escape a riotous crowd on February 25, 2020.

“…curiously, Sajid during investigation was made an accused. One of the primary reasons was that since he had suffered a gunshot injury during the riots, he can be held to be … part of the riotous mob. By this logic, every injured person in a riots case can be made an accused,” additional sessions judge Amitabh Rawat observed, LiveLaw reported.

The court made these observations while discharging six accused from the offence of attempt to murder in a case related to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots.

Sajid was one of the accused, who was to face trial in this case. The first information report (FIR) was also registered on the basis of Sajid’s complaint under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

“These aspects of investigation are incongruous in as much as if Sajid is stated to be an accused in this matter, he can’t be made as witness as then he would be as a witness who will give the testimony on behalf of prosecution and also the accused who does cross-­examination of himself,” the court said.

This story was originally published in thewiren.in . Read the full story here