A local court on Wednesday discharged two persons arrested by the Crime Branch of the Mumbai Police in the Azad Maidan riots case, after the court was told that there was no evidence against them.
Meanwhile, the police arrested an 18-year-old from Govandi on Wednesday in connection with the case. Police sources said a photograph in a newspaper showed Mohammad Farhan Mohammad Farid Shaikh, a resident of the Shivaji Nagar area in Govandi, attacking a policeman.
The two discharged were Salim Mehtab Shaikh (42) and Amir Yunus Shiekh (19). They were among the first batch of arrests made by the Crime Branch. The former Mumbai Police Commissioner, Arup Patnaik, had announced soon after the arrests that the Crime Branch would apply for the discharge of those individuals whose role in the violence was not substantiated by evidence.
54 under arrest
Till now, five persons have been discharged under Section 169 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
The number of persons under arrest at present was 54, police said.
Meanwhile, the women constables who were molested by the rioting mob at Azad Maidan on August 11 have identified at least five persons from among those arrested.
