A court has convicted five people in the Bhajanpura petrol pump violence case linked to the 2020 north-east Delhi riots. The court held that the mob comprising the accused had pelted stones at and attacked police personnel deployed on duty.
However, the court acquitted all five of the charge of setting fire to the petrol pump.
Additional Sessions Judge Parveen Singh passed the order against Arif, Mohammad Khalid, Abdul Sattar, Tanveer Ali and Hunain.
The court issued the order on 9 September, but the matter came to light today. The court has not yet announced the sentence.
All five have been convicted of rioting, assaulting or obstructing a public servant involved in suppressing a riot, obstructing the discharge of official duties, and assaulting or using criminal force against a public servant with the intention of deterring them.
These charges have been framed under Sections 147, 152, 186 and 353 of the IPC, read with Section 149 of the IPC relating to unlawful assembly. Violence broke out in Delhi in February 2020, in which 53 people were killed.
Earlier, all the accused were also accused of setting fire to the petrol pump.
The police had to flee due to stone pelting
The court said the accused threw stones at the policemen. The attack was so violent that the policemen had to escape by scaling the petrol pump wall.
The court was told that on February 24, 2020, at around 2 p.m., information was received about a large crowd gathering at the Bhajanpura petrol pump, also known as Delhi Diesels, located on the Yamuna Vihar Service Road.
Police arrived at the scene to find 100 to 150 people who had broken through the road divider from Chand Bagh and were approaching the petrol pump. The crowd became violent and began pelting stones. They vandalized the petrol pump’s machines and attacked the police officers.
Six years ago, tensions escalated in Delhi over the CAA, leading to riots
Tensions escalated in Northeast Delhi over protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in February 2020. Between February 23–26, riots, arson, and stone-pelting occurred in several areas.
The violence resulted in 53 deaths and hundreds of injuries, with homes, shops, vehicles and religious sites damaged.
Delhi Police accused some people of allegedly hatching a larger conspiracy to riot, mobilising protesters and inciting violence.
