A day after he was acquitted in a murder case related to the 2020 CAA-NRC Oppose, BJPYouth wing leader Vinay Varshney and his supporters took out a procession from Etah district jail to Aligarh on Thursday.
Varshney was arrested for the murder of Mohammad Tariq, who was shot dead during the anti-CAA-NRC protest in Aligarh. Varshney has been in jail since then. On Wednesday, a local court acquitted him and two other co-accused – one Surendra Kumar and his son Triloki – on the ground that the prosecution failed to prove the charge beyond doubt. Important witnesses in the case, including Tariq’s family, had turned hostile.
“During the trial, all the five important witnesses including the complainant in the case turned hostile. He did not support the theory of prosecution. Varshney’s licensed pistol was sent for ballistic test, but it did not match with the bullets found by Tariq,” said defense lawyer Hari Om Varshney.
On Thursday, as Varshney came out of the Etah district jail, his supporters, numbering around 100-150, took out a roadshow to Aligarh – a distance of about 70 km.
The Aligarh Police on Friday registered a case against Varshney and his supporters for holding a road show without the permission of the administration. According to the police, FIR The case was registered on the basis of an inquiry conducted on the basis of information given by two constables. “During investigation, it was found that Vinay Varshney and his supporters, numbering around 100-150 people, had conducted a roadshow. There were around 30 to 35 vehicles in the procession,” said station house officer (Lodha police station) Aditya Kumar.
An FIR has been registered under IPC section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) at Lodha police station. The SHO said that no one has been arrested in the case.
BJP’s Metropolitan District President Aman Gupta said that Vinay Varshney is in the party but is not holding any post. Gupta said that he is the former district secretary of BJP Yuva Morcha.
According to Varshney’s lawyer, the matter dates back to February 23, 2020, when a clash broke out between the people protesting against CAA-NRC and the police in Babri Mandi area.
According to him, Tariq’s brother Mohammad Sharik, who is the complainant in the case, alleged that when they were watching the clashes from the balcony of their house, Vinay Varshney, Surendra and their son Triloki, who were in the opposite building, abused- Started abusing. He and Vinay shot him which hit Tariq in the chest. After Tariq’s death during treatment, the police arrested Vinay and two others on charges of murder. Varshney’s licensed pistol was also seized.
“The prosecution stated that the death statement of the victim was recorded by the Investigating Officer (IO) and supported the prosecution story. However, the court observed that the police did not obtain the doctor’s certificate on the mental fitness of the victim. There was an impression,” said Varshney’s lawyer.
Notably, the complainant of the case, Mohammad Shariq, had also turned hostile during the trial. He did not respond to calls made to him.