Delhi violence: Court rejects bail to man accused of setting house on fire

New Delhi [India], October 21 : A Delhi court has refused to grant bail to a one Vishal Singh, accused of being a member of unlawful assembly and setting a house on fire, which allegedly led to the death of an 85-year-old woman during the northeast Delhi violence.
Additional Sessions Judge Vinod Yadav dismissed the bail plea of Vishal Singh alias Pawan.
A mob had allegedly set a house on fire during the violence that broke out in the northeast Delhi area in February this year, in which an 85-year-old woman Akbari, who was present on the third floor of the building, died due to suffocation.
"Though the chargesheet in the matter has been filed, yet it is apparent that further investigation in the matter is on to unearth the role of other rioters as well as the conspiracy angle; and if released on bail at this stage, the applicant may threaten the witnesses who are residents of same locality," the court observed in its order on Tuesday.
The court, considering the facts and circumstances of the case in totality and gravity of the offence, did not find it to be a fit case for grant of bail and dismissed the plea.
The FIR in the matter was registered on February 27 at Bhajanpura police station based on a written complaint filed by Mohd Saeed Salmani, who alleged that a huge crowd with hundreds of people had gathered near his house chanting communal slogans and the crowd later entered his house by breaking open the locks and set it on fire.
His family members and 10 employees rushed to the top floor of the house to save their lives, but his 85-year-old mother Akbari, could not reach the roof.
"A careful analysis of the statements of witnesses prima facie indicate that the applicant was very well part of the unlawful assembly which had put the house of complainant on fire after committing robbery therein," the order said.
"I am conscious of the law that at the 'precognizance/pre committal stage' and that too while deciding the bail application, this Court cannot probe deep into the material collected by the investigating agency because at this stage conducting of 'mini-trial' is not warranted," it added.
The court noted the statement of each witness recorded by the police while dealing with the bail plea and observed that it does not find any force in the arguments of counsel for the applicant that the applicant has been falsely implicated in the present matter or that there is no legally sustainable evidence available against him.
"On the contrary, I find the ocular evidence of the complainant and his son Mohd Asif Salmani, which clearly chalks out the role of applicant in the incident," the order said.
Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad, who was appearing for the Delhi Police, had opposed the bail plea while advocate VP Katiyar represented accused Vishal Singh and lawyer Jatin Bhatt appeared on behalf of complainant Mohd Saeed Salmani.