31 years on, SoBo resident acquitted in 1993 riots case

MUMBAI: The sessions court on August 23 acquitted a South Mumbai resident in a January 1993 riots case. The court cleared Atharbeg Riyaj Beg of all the charges levelled against him for want of cogent evidence.
On January 9, 1993, amidst communal riots following the Babri Masjid demolition, when police were patrolling Memonwada and Imamwada junctions in South Mumbai, a group pelted stones and bottles at them. Despite repeated orders to disperse, the crowd refused to comply, prompting the police to go for mild lathi-charge. In response, the mob turned more aggressive and hurled stones, bricks, glass bottles, and bulbs at the police.
The situation escalated when some members of the mob, along with individuals present at Kamal Khan Chawl, began firing at the police. In retaliation, the police fired back, leading to the dispersal of the mob. At around 11:00 am, when the police entered BIT Chawl, they were again met with stones and bricks. The police responded with force, causing the crowd to scatter.
During the ensuing chaos, several individuals fell and were apprehended by the police. Beg These individuals, including Beg, were taken to the police station, where an FIR was registered against them.
Advocate FY Solkar, representing Beg, argued that the Dongri police had admitted that there was no curfew in the area on the day of the incident. This implies that there were no restrictions on the movement of residents in the locality at the time. Consequently, it is possible that individuals who were merely passersby could have been among those who fell when the crowd dispersed.
Advocate Solkar said that none of the direct witnesses, including the informant, could assign any specific role to the arrested individuals. The identification of the accused has not been established beyond reasonable doubt, and there is insufficient evidence to prove that Atharbeg was a member of the unlawful assembly.
APP Prabhakar Tarange, representing the state, said that the witnesses in the case were either deceased or untraceable and, consequently, the prosecution had relied on previously recorded evidence for consideration in the case against Beg.
Additional sessions judge SB Pawar, however, held that the prosecution did not have enough material to prove the charges levelled against Beg and acquitted him. The court said some of the arrested were passersby rather than members of the unlawful assembly.