In another major step towards delivering justice in the Delhi anti-Hindu riots case, a Delhi Court has framed charges against accused Tahir Hussain, who, by way of a conspiracy, targeted Hindus during the riots. The current case in which charges have been framed pertains to FIR 114/20 lodged in the Khajuri Khas police station.

The Court Order in the case, where charges were being framed against Tahir Hussain categorically state that he was not a mute spectator but also an active rioter. He was also not just a conspirator but took an active part in the riots that targeted Hindus and their homes.

In this current case, according to the prosecutor, Tahir Hussain hatched a conspiracy where the main aim was to target the Hindu community of Khajuri Khas. An unlawful assembly, to meet the object of the conspiracy, was formed on the 25th of February 2020 and was led by Tahir Hussain himself. This unlawful assembly vandalised and set ablaze the godown of Harsh Trading Company owned by the complainant (Karan). During the vandalisation by the mob led by Tahir Hussain, some valuables were also stolen from the godown by the rioters.

What the complaint had said when the vandalisation and arson had taken place

The complaint was submitted at the police station on the 27th of February 2020 by the owner of the godown, Harsh Trading Company. On the basis of the complaint, an FIR was registered on the same day and the investigation was underway. The investigation was being led by SI Vipin Kumar, however, later the case was transferred to SIT Crime Branch. The harsh Trading company was only 50-60 meters away from the Khajuri Khas building that was owned and used by Tahir Hussain as his launchpad.

The investigation into the incident and the role of Tahir Hussain in the riots

On the main Karawal Nagar road, burnt articles, broken bottles, stones, bricks etc were found in the aftermath of the riots. During the investigation, it was found that the Khajuri Khas building, which was owned by Tahir Hussain, was used by Tahir Hussain and other rioters as a lunch pad to hurt stones, bricks, and acid pouches, petrol bombs etc. The building was 4 storeys, including the basement floor.

Tahir Hussain, it was found, run his office from this building. His company name was M/s Show Effect Advertisement Pvt Ltd. The office was limited to the first floor while the top 3 floors were under construction. On the 13th of March 2020, the Investigating Officer seized 5 burnt and broken E-Rickshaws from the spot, however, even though the FSL team was present, it was difficult to lift fingerprints.

It was later found by the Investigating Officer that the FSL team had already investigated Tahir Hussain’s building on the 28th of February 2020. During this investigation, large amounts of stones, bricks, catapults, acid bottles, petrol bombs etc were found lying on the 3rd floor of the building. That material and 4 DVRs were seized by the FSL team under FIR 101/2020.

The CCTV footage was also collected and it was found that the footage from some cameras around the area was already collected when FIR 65/20 was being investigated. BEL Company then provided the relevant footage of the incident that occurred on the 25th between 3 PM and 8 PM. When the CCTV footage was found, the investigators realised that the cameras had been turned down or covered so that the faces of the rioters could not be identified. There was other footage that was received by the IO that showed rioters throwing stones, petrol bombs etc from the roof of the Tahir Hussain building, specifically targeting the Hindu community.

During the investigation, the photographs of various accused were shown to eyewitnesses and the local people who were witnesses to the riots. The eyewitnesses specifically identified the 5 accused namely Anas, Firoz, Javed, Gulfam and Shoaibh Alam. One of the eyewitnesses also identified Tahir Hussain specifically.

What the prosecution said in the case against Tahir Hussain

The prosecution had made a case arguing that Tahir Hussain was leading the riotous mob not only from his building but also from the Mosque near Chand Bagh pulia on the 24th and 25th of February. He had further provoked Muslims against the Hindus to create enmity between the two religions. It is on the provocation of Tahir Hussain that Muslims became violent against the Hindu community and it was in that process that the godown was burnt down.

The prosecution detailed several other facts to prove that Tahir Hussain was an active part of the conspiracy as well as the riots. For example, the prosecution mentioned that Tahir Hussain had gotten his pistol released from the police station on the 22nd of February and had been unable to provide a satisfactory explanation as to why he got it released right before the riots broke out. 64 live cartridges and 22 empty cartridges out of 100 were found by the police. Tahir Hussain could not account for the remaining 14 live and 22 empty cartridges. In fact, on the intervening night of the 24th and 25th, Tahir Hussain had shifted his family from the building used as a launchpad against Hindus to his parental home. However, he had remained in the Karawal Nagar house so he can “lead Muslim rioters against Hindus”.

It was further found that Muslim rioters, mainly Tanvir and Gulfam, had opened fire from the terrace of Tahir Hussain’s building on the 25th of February. The firing was done against Hindus and in the process, they caused a gunshot injury to Hindu man Ajay Goswami. In this case, a separate FIR was registered and is being investigated as well.

The prosecution also detailed the entire case of the conspiracy to cause violence while the then US President Donald Trump was visiting Delhi. It was detailed how Tahir Hussain was in touch with other conspirators like Umar Khalid and Khalid Saifi. Other than the meeting on the 8th of January between the three, where “big action” was decided upon, the bank account details of the two companies of Tahir Hussain were also analysed. In one of the accounts, there were 6 suspicious RTGS transfers which could involve the planning of the riots.

In essence, the prosecution has said that Tahir Hussain, in furtherance of the larger conspiracy, was a local key player in organising riots in Chand Bagh. It was further established that he did not just instigate Muslims but also gave them logistical support to eliminate Hindus.

The court and its observations while framing charges against Tahir Hussain

The court, while framing charges clearly said that the LPP (Lead Public Prosecutor) has clearly detailed how sticks, bricks, petrol bombs etc were collected over a period of time clearly indicating that the organisation of the riots was under process since much before the 24th of February. The prosecution also showed how Tahir Hussain was not just instigating Muslims but was leading the Muslim mob against Hindus from the front.

The court said that the defence counsel for Shoaib, Gulfam, Javed and Firoz had argued that the statement of witnesses had been recorded after considerable delay and the offence had not been made out against the accused. The defence also raised points to try and prove that the identification of the rioters is doubtful because due process was not followed. They also claimed that there was no incriminating material against the accused.

The council for accused Anas also submitted in similar lines, saying that only one witness had identified him and that the statement of two police witnesses had been recorded after a delay.

The council for Tahir Hussain had said that no incriminating evidence had been found from the building against him and that all seizures had been made in a separate case, based on which, the culpability of Hussain cannot be made out. The council also said that no case of conspiracy had been made out. That according to the prosecution itself, this is a case of a larger conspiracy and that in this case, he could not be implicated again since he was already chargesheeted in a separate FIR (59/2020).

After perusing the arguments put forth by all parties, the court said that it was clear that all the accused, including Tahir Hussain, were a part of the unlawful assembly on 25th February which set ablaze Harsh Trading and other properties belonging to the Hindu community.

The court observed that the main witness was present when the rioting was taking place and though he had tried to stop the accused, they carried on pouring petrol and setting properties of Hindus ablaze. Further, he had identified the said accused.

The Court also observed that another witness had identified the rioters while they were setting the godown ablaze. The two police witnesses identified the accused as part of the unlawful assembly on the 25th of February and also said that they were a part of the riotous mob on the 24th that was stone-pelting at Bhajanpura chowk.

The court observed that apart from two police witnesses, there are two other witnesses and one of them actually belongs to the Muslim community. Even though the statements were recorded a month later, there is no reason to believe that these witnesses were planted or inauthentic and had not seen the rioters.

The court in detail went into the trouble that the Delhi Police may have faced. Though the areas of the riots come under the jurisdiction, the police were inundated with calls from witnesses and controlling the violence was a herculean task. Due to the atmosphere of fear created by the rioters, local witnesses were also not coming forward to aid in the investigation. The court further said that all of these details, including the lockdown that was imposed by the central government due to COVID, slowed down the pace of the investigation and therefore, the delay in the recording of the statement is explainable. Given that the witnesses had gone through cross-examination, it would be a “travesty of justice to disbelieve their version”.

The court also commented on the procedural question raised by the defence. It said that the police showed the witnesses multiple photographs from which the accused was identified and therefore, there is no procedural lapse as far as that is concerned.

The court said that it is evident that the accused were present when the godown of the complainant was set ablaze and therefore, offence under section 436 is made out.

In the case of Tahir Hussain, the court threw out the contentions of the defence summarily.

One of the contentions of the defence was that according to the prosecution, the Delhi Riots were caused by furthering one single larger conspiracy (FIR 59/2020), therefore, there is no ground to prosecute Tahir Hussain in a separate case of conspiracy. The court said that FIR 59 deals with the top conspirators and has no specifics about local vandalisation, murder etc. The court observed that the contents of the larger conspiracy and the smaller, local conspiracy were not the same.

The court reiterated that the FIR 59/2020 deals with the larger conspiracy by the top conspirators including Tahir Hussain, however, it does not include the exact details of where the riots would be done, the logistics and mobilisation on the local level. The current chargesheet, however, deals with a local conspiracy where there was an agreement between local rioters and one of the main conspirators and it, therefore, be construed as a separate conspiracy.

After establishing that the main conspiracy and the local conspiracy are separate, the court proceeded to establish if a case of conspiracy has been made out against Tahir Hussain in the current case.

In this regard, the court relied on 7 points that had emerged from the investigation.

1. Tahir Hussain got his gun released along with 100 cartridges on 22nd February 2022.
2. He has failed to give a satisfactory response as to why he had got the gun released, right before the commencement of the Delhi riots.
3. There is no account of 14 live cartridges and 22 fired cartridges.
4. He had shifted his family to his parental house on the intervening night of 23rd and 24th while he himself stayed back to lead the riotous mob.
5. There are video footages where it can be seen that a mob was pelting stones and petrol bombs from the roof of the Tahir Hussain building at the Hindu community.
6. Bricks, petrol bombs etc were recovered from the roof of Tahir Hussain’s building.
7. There were 6 suspicious RTGS transactions as detailed by the prosecution.

Based on these facts, the court categorically said that prima facie it seems that the riotous incident in question was committed in pursuance of a well-hatched conspiracy and after elaborate preparations. The facts nowhere indicate that it was a spontaneous act but clearly reveal that there was an agreement between the accused to commit vandalisation and arson of properties belonging to the Hindu community from the building of Tahir Hussain.

Tahir Hussain had also argued that since the material was seized in a separate case, the same cannot be used in the present case to incriminate Tahir Hussain. This argument was thrown out by the court saying that the material can obviously be seized only once but can be used in different cases.

The court further said that Tahir Hussain can, by no means, be called only a conspirator or mute spectator. He had taken an active part in the riots as the witness statements clearly indicate that he instigated the Muslim mob to “teach Kafirs a lesson”.

The court concluded its judgement saying, “Thus, in the light of the above discussion, charges for the offence of conspiracy u/s 1.20B IPC is liable to be framed against all the accused. Further charges u/s 147/148/427/435/436/395 IPC r/w Section 149 IPC also are liable to be framed against all the accused. Additional charges u/s 109/114 IPC are also liable to be framed against accused Tahir Hussain”.