The Delhi High Court on Thursday said that the riots, which took place in northeast Delhi in February this year were 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”, PTI reported.
The court made the remarks while dismissing bail pleas in three cases of former AAP Councillor Tahir Hussain, who allegedly incite violence in the region using his “muscle power”.
The court also observed that the spread of riots on such a big scale in such a short time is not possible without a “premeditated conspiracy”.
Hussain’s first case related to the alleged presence of 100 people standing on his terrace throwing petrol bombs on people belonging to another community during the riots.
The second case pertained to the looting of a shop in the area due to which the shop’s owner incurred a loss of about Rs 20 lakh.
The third case related to looting and torching of a shop due to which the owner suffered a loss of around Rs 17 lakh.
Notably, communal violence had broken out in northeast Delhi on February 24 after clashes between citizenship law supporters and protestors became uncontrollable, leaving at least 53 people dead and around 200 injured.
