A Delhi Court on Wednesday (9th September) convicted five accused, namely Arif, Mohd. Khalid, Abdul Sattar, Tanveer Ali, and Hunain in connection with violence at the Bhajanpura petrol pump that happened on February 24, 2020, during the anti-Hindu Delhi riots.
Additional Sessions Judge-03, North-East District, Karkardooma Courts, Delhi, Parveen Singh, pronounced the judgment convicting the five accused of rioting, assaulting/obstructing a public servant when suppressing a riot, voluntarily obstructing a public servant in discharge of public functions, and assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharge of duty. The hearing on the accused’s sentencing will take place on September 16, 2026.
“In view of the above findings, I find that prosecution, beyond all reasonable doubts, has proved that the accused had committed offences punishable u/s 147 IPC r/w section 149 IPC; u/s 152 IPC r/w section 149 IPC; u/s 186 IPC r/w section 149 IPC and u/s 353 IPC r/w section 149 IPC,” the court held, noting that the prosecution proved the said charges against the accused beyond a reasonable doubt.
After examining all the material on record, including witness testimonies, the court concluded that a mob of at least 100-150 people gathered at Bhajanpura Petrol Pump with a common object of committing riot, arson, criminal mischief, and vandalism.
The court held that the five accused, Tanveer, Hunain, Arif Malik, Mohd. Khalid and Abdul Sattar were part of the mob, which was an unlawful assembly under Section 141 of the IPC.
The FIR in the case was filed by ASI Arvind Kumar on February 25, 2026. According to the prosecution, the police received information around 2:00 pm on February 24, 2020, about a large gathering near the Bhajanpura petrol pump. On getting the information, ASI Arvind Kumar and some other police personnel reached the petrol pump at around 2:10 pm.
On reaching the petrol pump, they saw a mob of 100-150 people protesting and raising slogans against the CAA/NRC. In no time, the mob turned violent and pelted stones at the police, broke the road divider, vandalised the petrol pump, vehicles, and nearby shops, and set vehicles on fire.
Court observations
The prosecution presented 26 witnesses before the court, of which the Court relied on the testimonies of eight prosecution witnesses, including five police witnesses, to hold the accused guilty. The five police witnesses, ASI Arvind Kumar, Retd. SI/ASI Ved Pal, Retd. HC Arvind, HC Jagroop and Constable Nemi Chand were present at the spot when the mob, including the five accused, unleashed violence at the petrol pump. They identified the five accused and described their acts of violence at the petrol pump to the court.
The court rejected the defence’s claim that the police witnesses were not present at the spot when the violence at the petrol pump happened. The court said the defence failed to prove the police witnesses were not present at Bhajanpura Petrol Pump at the time of the incident. It further noted that the testimonies of the police witnesses sound credible and corroborate one another.
“Apart from the general and bald suggestions, put to only some of them, that they were not present at Bhajanpura Petrol Pump at the time of the incident, or that they had not seen the incident or the accused, nothing could be brought out during the cross-examination of these police witnesses that would significantly dent their credibility. On the contrary, a pattern emerges from their testimonies, including their cross-examinations, by which they corroborate each other,” the Court noted.
The court noted that the police witnesses’ descriptions of the events relating to the incident matched one another and were further corroborated by the testimonies of other witnesses.
The court said that the witnesses’ version of events could not be doubted. “…the version of how the events unfolded, given by these police witnesses, has remained consistent. Not only have they corroborated each other on this aspect, but one independent public witness and one police witness from another district have also corroborated their version. Their presence at Bhajanpura Petrol Pump on 24.02.2020 at or around 2.00 p.m., therefore, cannot be doubted,” the court said.
The court observed that these policemen were present on the ground and came face to face with the rioters. Therefore, their identification of the accused leaves little room for suspicion.
“In view of the foregoing discussion, I am of the considered opinion that through the testimonies of PW2, PW5, PW7, PW8, PW12, PW13, PW14 and PW19 the prosecution beyond all reasonable doubts has proved that at about 2 PM on 24/02/2020, a mob of not less
than 100-150 people had gathered in front of ‘Delhi Diesels’, a petrol pump popularly known as Bhajanpura Petrol Pump. The said mob was
raising slogans against CAA/NRC, and from its conduct it can be safely gathered that it has assembled with a common object of committing riot, arson, criminal mischief and vandalism. Hence, this being an assembly of more than five persons, the common object of which was to commit offences such as rioting, arson, criminal mischief and vandalism, was an unlawful assembly within the definition of section141 IPC,” the court said.
The court further stated that during their cross-examination, the defence has failed to shake the credibility of the witnesses and from their testimonies, it is clear that the unlawful assembly of which the accused were members had used violence and force in prosecution of its common object of rioting and arson and thus, an offence u/s 146 IPC was committed, which is punishable u/s 147 IPC and thus, by
virtue of section 149 IPC, the accused had committed this offence.
The court also noted that while the police [witnesses] were deployed to maintain law and order, the Muslim rioters attacked them by pelting stones upon them, and “ferocity of the attack was such that the police officials fled from the petrol pump by jumping over its wall and thus, in a situation of riot, when the police officials who had fired tear gas shells and tried to pacify the unlawful assembly, were met with force, attacked and had to flee, the unlawful assembly had used criminal force upon the public servants and obstructed them in discharge of their duty while they were suppressing the riot.”
“In view of the aforesaid discussion, it also stands proved that the unlawful assembly had voluntarily obstructed the police officials who were public servants discharging their duty and at the same time by pelting stones upon them, this unlawful assembly had used criminal force upon them in order to prevent them from discharging their duty which was maintaining the law and order,” the court added.
The court held the accused guilty of being part of an unlawful assembly and committing violence, arson, criminal mischief, and vandalism at the Bhajanpura petrol pump.
However, the court did not accept the prosecution’s allegation that the petrol pump was set on fire by the mob, noting that there were inconsistencies and gaps in the evidence concerning this particular allegation.
The anti-Hindu Delhi riots
The violence at the Bhajanpura petrol pump was part of the large-scale anti-Hindu riots and violence that happened in the national capital on February 24 and 25 in 2020. Several parts of Delhi, including Shahdara, Maujpur, Bhajanpura, and Brahmapur, witnessed brutal violence and chaos unleashed by Islamist mobs, which went on a rampage, attacking the police as well as common people. The anti-Hindu riots were a culmination of the anger and hostility manufactured by Islamists during the anti-CAA protests in Shaheen Bagh and other areas.
