A sessions court in Bijnor granted bail to two persons accused of rioting and attempt to murder during the anti-CAA protests last month. It has torn police claims stating they produced no evidence to show that the accused indulged in firing, neither weapons were seized from the accused, nor any police personnel had gotten any bullet injury.
Additional Sessions Judge Sanjiv Pandey, in the bail order on January 24, pointed out some discrepancies present in the police version.
“Without making any observation on the merits of the case, in my view, looking at the circumstances and the natures of offences, bail has to be granted to the accused,” he said.
The January 24 bail order is in relation to the FIR lodged at the Najibabad police station against Shafique Ahmed and Imran, accused of rioting and attempt to murder.
The FIR stated “we received information that 100-150 people from Jalalabad had created jam at the NH-74 while protesting against CAA-NRC, the crowd was led by Shafique Ahmed and Imran”
The police explained to the crowd. However, the crowd threatened to kill and sat on the National Highway. Imran was arrested on the spot and the other accused person fled”.
Court records state that police claimed they used “minimum force” to control protesters on December 20.
The order then records the following discrepancies: “I have heard arguments from both sides and have also pursued the case diary… only Imran, named in the FIR, has been arrested from the spot. No other accused have been arrested from the spot. The prosecution has also argued that the police officer was injured during stone-pelting.”
On December 28, an FIR was lodged against six police personnel, including the then Station House Officer of Nahtaur police station, Rajesh Singh Solanki, over the death of Mohammad Suleman. It was filed following police admission that Suleman died after he was shot by police in “self-defense”.
Suleman’s Family issued a statement, Suleiman was a final-year undergraduate student who was staying with his maternal uncle in Noida to prepare for the UPSC exams. He had come to Nahtaur since he had a fever.
He was returning from a mosque after offering namaz when police caught him, took him to a lane near a madrasa and shot him.
