A Delhi court has issued summons to two officers of Delhi Police in the case relating to the death of a 23-year-old man who was beaten with lathis by Delhi Police during the Delhi riots of 2020.
A video clip had gone viral on social media showing policeman beating the victim Faizan with sticks and forcing him to sing the national anthem.
After Delhi Police failed to come up with anything conclusive in the probe, Delhi High Court in 2024 ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate the case.
The agency recently filed a chargesheet against Head Constable Ravinder Kumar and Constable Pawan Yadav under Sections 323, 325 and 304(II) of the Indian Penal Code for culpable homicide not amounting to murder and injuring the victim.
Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Mayank Goel recently took cognizance of the CBI chargesheet and asked the accused to appear before the Court on February 24.
"There is sufficient material on record to take cognizance for commission of offence u/s 323, 325, 304(II) r/w Section 34 IPC and substantive offences thereof," the Court said in the order dated February 04.
In July 2024, the High Court had slammed Delhi Police for its failure to probe the case.
Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani observed that the incident fell in the category of a hate crime and yet the police probe was "tardy and sketchy" and spared people (police officials) suspected of assaulting Faizan.
"What is worse is that the suspects (police officials) were entrusted to act as custodians of the law, and were in a position of power and authority, but seemed to have been driven by bigoted mindsets," Justice Bhambhani said.
The Court concluded the Delhi Police probe did not inspire confidence and its actions in the case so far is "too-little, too-late"."
"In the present case, apart from the fact that the custodians of the law are themselves accused of having committed its breach, the perpetrators of the offence are themselves members of the agency that is investigating them. This situation does not inspire confidence. To add to this are the various anomalies and aberrations noticed in the investigation carried-out by Delhi Police so far, some of which have been highlighted above. In the opinion of this court, transfer of investigation is necessitated in the present case, to guard the credibility of the investigation and to instil confidence in the victims as to the fairness of the process, if for no other reason."
The High Court had passed the order on the plea filed by Faizan's mother Kismatun. In her plea, Kismatun alleged that Faizan was brutally assaulted by policemen at Kardampuri and then taken into illegal detention at the Jyoti Nagar Police Station, where he was denied any medical attention, ultimately leading to his death.
[Read Order]