New Delhi: A Delhi court on Friday acquitted AAP ex-MLA Somnath Bharti and 17 others in connection with a Jan 2014 midnight raid, which allegedly targeted women from Africa, at South Delhi’s Khirki Extension.Holding that the charges were not proved, additional chief judicial magistrate Neha Mittal observed that “the statements of the victims are deemed to be inadmissible as they did not come to court. Any instance of unlawful assembly could not be proved. The prosecution has failed to prove its case.”During the hearing, the court noted that the prosecution failed to establish the allegation of unlawful assembly and could not satisfactorily explain a delay in lodging the FIR. It also observed that the identity of the alleged victims could not be established, further weakening the case and leading to the acquittal of all 18 people.A detailed judgment is awaited.On the intervening night of Jan 15 and 16, 2014, Bharti, then Delhi’s law minister and Malviya Nagar MLA, allegedly led a group that harassed and assaulted African women living in the area, accusing them of involvement in illegal activities. According to the prosecution, multiple women sustained injuries during the incident.An FIR was registered on the court’s direction after a Ugandan woman, one of the alleged victims, filed a complaint on Jan 18, 2014, seeking action against unidentified persons.In 2018, the court framed charges against Bharti and the others under sections 147/149 (rioting), 354 (molestation), 354C (voyeurism), 342 (wrongful confinement), 506 (criminal intimidation), 143 (unlawful assembly), 509 (outraging a woman’s modesty), 153A (promoting enmity between groups), 323 (assault), 452 (house trespass), 427 (criminal trespass) and 186 (obstructing a public servant) of Indian Penal Code, observing a prima facie case against the accused.A chargesheet of Delhi Police cited 41 prosecution witnesses, including nine African women, to support the case.
