North-East Delhi riots accused gets hero's welcome after he was out on parole

Shahrukh Pathan, an accused in the 2020 northeast Delhi riots who had allegedly pointed a gun against a policeman, received a hero's welcome on May 23 in his locality, when he had been released on four-hour parole to visit his ailing father. A clip of the incident has gone viral on social media.

New Delhi: Shahrukh Pathan, an accused in the 2020 north-east Delhi riots who had allegedly pointed a gun against a policeman, received a hero's welcome on May 23 in his locality, when he had been released on four-hour parole to visit his ailing father. A clip of the incident has gone viral on social media.

Shahrukh Pathan is currently lodged in jail after a Delhi court framed charges against rioting and promoting religious enmity under sections 147 (punishment for rioting), 148 (rioting armed with a deadly weapon), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of duty), and 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the IPC.

Last week, he was granted four-hour parole from Tihar jail on humanitarian grounds to see his ailing father. In the viral video, hundreds of supporters & his neighbours can be seen rallying behind him while others can be seen cheering & whistling for him while they accompany him to his house. In another video, Pathan is seen waving to the cheering crowd as the police team takes him to the police van for a return to Jail.

Communal clashes engulfed several parts of North-East Delhi and claimed more than 50 lives & leftover 700 people injured. The riots erupted between February 23 and February 25.