High Court seeks police reply on former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain's bail plea in Delhi riots case

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court Wednesday asked the police to respond to a bail plea of former AAP Councillor Tahir Hussain, who is lodged in jail for his alleged role in the communal violence in northeast Delhi riots in February.
Justice Suresh Kumar Kait asked the investigating officer of the case to file a status report on Hussain's plea and listed the matter for further hearing on December 11, his lawyer said.

A trial court had on October 22 denied bail to Hussain.

The FIR, in which he is seeking bail, is related to looting of a shop in Dayalpur area of northeast Delhi causing a loss of about Rs 20 lakh to the owner.

Hussain, represented through advocate Rizwan, sought bail on various grounds including parity and that there were general allegations in the FIR and no specific allegation against him.

He contended that there were 10 accused in the case and nine have already been granted bail and only he is left in jail.

He further said he was not even named in the FIR and claimed that he was falsely implicated in the case and as the charge sheet was filed in July and he was not required for custodial interrogation.

While denying bail to Hussain in three cases, the trial court had observed that the violence in February this year amounted to the “worst communal riots since partition” in the national capital and that it was a “gaping wound” in the conscience of a nation aspiring to be a “major global power”.

Additional Sessions Judge Vinod Yadav had said it was prima facie apparent that he used his muscle power and political clout to act as a kingpin in planning, instigating and fanning the flames of communal conflagration.

The FIR was lodged on March 4 on the complaint by Zeeshan who said he had a furniture shop at main Sherpur Chowk here and on February 23, he had closed the shop as per routine and did not open it the next day due to eruption of communal riots in the area.

The complainant further stated that on February 25, he received a call that the shutter of his shop had been broken and the articles were looted by the rioters as a result of which he had to incur a loss of Rs 20 lakh.

Communal violence had broken out in northeast Delhi on February 24 after clashes between citizenship law supporters and protesters spiralled out of control, leaving at least 53 people dead and around 200 injured.