A COURT in Delhi has convicted five men of culpable homicide and unlawful assembly charges in a 2020 northeast Delhi rioting case where a mob brutally killed a man.
The court, however, acquitted two men of all charges.
Additional Sessions Judge Pulastya Pramachala was hearing the case registered by the Dayalpur police station against the seven accused.
Special Public Prosecutor Madhukar Pandey appeared in the court on behalf of the Delhi Police.
In its 63-page verdict passed last Saturday, the court took note of the evidence before it and said it was established that a riotous mob, armed with deadly weapons, killed Mohsin near the Peer Baba Mazar in the Chand Bagh area on February 25, 2020.
"The prime bone of contention involved in this case revolves around the question of whether the accused persons were among the rioters, who brutally assaulted the victim Mohsin to his death?" it asked.
The court said the testimonies of four prosecution witnesses left no doubt that five accused - Arun, Aman Kashyap, Ashish, Pradeep Rai and Devender Kumar - were part of the riotous mob that assaulted the victim.
But there was no evidence to prove specifically that these five accused had assaulted Mohsin, it said, adding that their criminal liability for causing Mohsin's death had to be based on section 149 (unlawful assembly) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
"For want of a specific role attributed to any of these five accused persons for causing head injuries on the victim, I find that their liability should be limited to causing culpable homicide not amounting to murder," the judge said.
Regarding the two other accused, the judge acquitted them of all charges, saying it was not proven that Krishan Kant and Rahul Bharadwaj were part of the riotous mob nor was it established that the victim's mobile phone was recovered from them.
The judge concluded, "I find that (five) accused persons are guilty of the offence punishable under IPC sections 148 (rioting, armed with a deadly weapon) and 304(1) (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) read with section 149 (unlawful assembly) of the IPC and they are convicted accordingly."
The matter has been posted for further proceedings on December 4. (PTI)
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