- विज्ञापन -
New Delhi: Delhi’s Karkardooma court has framed charges against eight individuals for the murder of an auto driver, Babbu, during the North East Delhi riots. The incident occurred on February 25, 2020, in the Khajuri Khas area, when Babbu got caught in stone-pelting between two communal groups at Khajuri Chowk. He was attacked by one of the groups and succumbed to his injuries two days later in the hospital, having suffered severe head injuries.
On March 18, Additional Sessions Judge Pulastya Pramachala observed that there was enough evidence to charge the eight accused with murder, rioting, and other offences. The accused are Rahul alias Ajay, Sandeep alias Sanjeev, Harjeet Singh alias Happy, Kuldeep, Bharat Bhusan alias Lucky, Dharmender alias Dham, Sachin Gupta alias Mopi, and Sachin Rastogi. They face charges under sections 148 (rioting with a deadly weapon), 153-A (promoting enmity between groups), 302 read with 149 (murder by unlawful assembly), and 188 (violating prohibitory orders) of the Indian Penal Code.
However, the court dropped charges of conspiracy under Section 120-B IPC and making inflammatory statements under Section 505 IPC due to insufficient evidence. Eleven other accused individuals were discharged from the case, including Rizwan, Israr, Taiyab, Iqbal, Juber, Maroof, Shamim, Adil, Sahabuddin, Farman, and Imran.
During the proceedings, two video clips were presented in court, showing the victim being beaten on the road. The videos confirmed that Babbu, a member of the Muslim community, was chased and assaulted by members of a rival group, believed to be from the Hindu community. The judge noted that the videos clearly depicted the incident as part of the larger communal riots that affected North-East Delhi for several days.
