Shahrukh Pathan, the man who pointed a gun at the police during the Delhi riots.
Shahrukh Pathan, who allegedly pointed a gun at a Delhi Police head constable during the 2020 Delhi riots, told a court here on Thursday that he did not open fire at the cop and only wanted to scare him and not kill him. wanted. Prosecution.
Last year, a picture of Pathan pointing a gun at Delhi Police head constable Deepak Dahiya during the communal riots went viral on social media.
He was arrested on March 3, 2020 and is currently lodged in Tihar Jail.
To show that there was no attempt to kill the constable, senior advocate Maneka Guruswamy, representing Pathan, played a 26-second long video of the incident in the court and said that the accused fired two shots – one in the air and the other at him. Well, after which he had a sharp tussle with Dahiya and returned.
Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat then asked the lawyer to replay the video and pointed out the position of Pathan’s gun just before firing in the air.
“Look at the position of his gun. It’s not pointed. It’s straight [at Dahiya], When he is taking aim, he is straight,” said the judge. The lawyer, however, clarified that neither of them targeted the head constable.
“The state’s case is based on Dahiya. He is a potential victim and is not shot. The first is in the air and the second is on the right,” he said.
Guruswamy said, “If I (accused) wanted to shoot him, I would have, but that was not the intention. The accused turned around and fled. Does any of this show an intention to kill or shoot him? At most , it is intended to intimidate.” Pathan’s lawyer said that he did not shoot Dahiya but asked him to back down.
“Our conversation was about as heated as could be, and then we backed off. Where is the intention to kill?” he offered.
She further said, “I had enough opportunity to kill Dahiya or at least injure him in this 26 seconds. I am trying to scare him. Offensive because it is for a civilian to scare a police officer.” is, section 307 IPC [attempt to murder] Not made because I had no intention to kill.” Special Public Prosecutor Anuj Handa, appearing for the police, said that the accused had clearly pointed a gun at the policeman.
Opposing Guruswami’s argument that Pathan had no intention of killing the police, Handa said, “The gun is pointed straight down at the complainant’s head. His hand is moving upwards as he retreats after firing.
“The question I ask myself is that during the first part of the video, he shoots in different directions of the crowd, which may be from different community. Suppose any person would have died because of the injuries, wouldn’t the offense be made out?” asked the prosecutor.
Pathan is facing charges of offenses such as rioting with deadly weapon, attempt to murder, assault and obstructing public servants from discharge of duty under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Arms Act.
Communal clashes broke out in northeast Delhi in February 2020, following violence between supporters of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and its protesters, leaving at least 53 people dead and over 700 injured.
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