Delhi Riots: In First Sentencing Over 2020 Violence Case, Man Given 5-Year Jail Term

A special Delhi court on Thursday awarded a five-year jail term to Deepak Yadav, the first person to be convicted, in connection to the 2020 riots case.

New Delhi: A special Delhi court on Thursday awarded a five-year jail term to Deepak Yadav, the first person to be convicted, in connection to the 2020 riots case. Deepak Yadav was convicted last month for rioting in Delhi and burning down the house of a 73-year-old woman.

Yadav has also been directed to pay a fine of Rs 12,000, said advocate Shikha Garg, who had represented him during the trial, news agency PTI reported.

As per the prosecution, Yadav was an active member of the riotous mob and participated in vandalizing and putting on fire the house of a 73-year-old woman named Manori on February 25 night. Last month the court had held Dinesh Yadav guilty under sections 143 (member of an unlawful assembly), 147 (punishment for rioting), 148 (rioting armed with a deadly weapon), 457 (house trespass), 392 (robbery), 436 (arson) of IPC read with section 149 (member of unlawful assembly guilty of a common offence) of IPC.

Manori had alleged that a mob of around 150-200 rioters attacked her house when her family was not present and looted all the articles and even the buffalo.

The 25-year-old Yadav was arrested on June 8, 2020. The court framed charges against him on August 3, 2021, to which he pleaded not guilty and claimed trial. He was convicted on December 6.

Communal clashes had broken out in northeast Delhi in February 2020, after the violence between the Citizenship (Amendment) Act supporters and its protesters spiraled out of control leaving at least 53 people dead and over 700 injured.