The Delhi High Court has granted bail to a man who was arrested for pelting stones at security personnel and “anti-national activities”, The Indian Express reported on Sunday.
The National Investigation Agency had arrested aved Ahmed Bhat, a resident of Kulgam district in Jammu and Kashmir in September, alleging that he was found near the sites of encounters where stone-pelting incidents were reported. The agency claimed that “three protected witnesses” had alleged that the 24-year-old crockery seller “was present and an active participant” in pelting stones at security forces.
Ahmed’s counsel MS Khan submitted in court that his client “has never indulged in anti-national activities” and was being “wrongly and falsely” implicated, according to The Indian Express. He also denied that Ahmed was “associated with any organisation” and said there was “no material evidence available” to prove that he had taken part in stone-pelting activities.
Additional Sessions Judge Tarun Sherawat, who granted Ahmed bail, had also granted bail on March 12 to photojournalist Kamran Yousuf, who was arrested on similar charges. The judge had noted that the NIA did not have a “single photo or video” on record to prove that Yousuf had pelted stones at security forces.
“It is apparent that mere presence of the accused at the site of incident is not sufficient to implicate such accused, who is a journalist, for the offences that allegedly occurred during that period at that site,” the High Court had observed.
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