Plea for SIT probe into allegedcustodial death during Delhi riots

Faizan seen in video of 5 injured men singing national anthem

The Delhi High Court on Thursday issued notice to Delhi Police on a petition by a 61-year-old widow seeking constitution of a court-monitored Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe into the alleged custodial death of her son during the north-east Delhi riots. Faizan, 23, was last seen in a viral video being rounded up by policemen with four other Muslim youth and forced to sing the national anthem on February 24 this year.

In her petition, Kismatun alleged that “the policemen kicked the five Muslim men with their boots, beat them with their lathis and taunted them saying, ‘ Yeh loh azaadi (Here, take freedom)’. They forced them to sing the national anthem while they were lying down, helpless and in a grievously wounded condition”.

The plea alleged that Faizan was in the “control and custody of the policemen from the time he was wrongfully confined and assaulted on February 24, till he was finally released in a precarious health condition on February 25 from Jyoti Nagar police station around 11 p.m.”. He succumbed to his injuries the next day at the Lok Nayak Hospital.

‘Denied critical care’

Advocate Vrinda Grover, representing Ms. Kismatun, said her son was denied access to critical medical care all through his illegal detention from the evening of February 24 till almost midnight on February 25.

“The MLC (medico-legal certificate) from GJB (Guru Teg Bahadur) Hospital dated February 24 records that Faizan was in need of specialised care, but the police took him to Jyoti Nagar police station. It was only when Faizan’s condition turned precarious and it appeared that he may not survive due to the injuries, that he was released from the police station,” the plea stated.

“The mere release from the police station prior to his death would not absolve the policemen of having committed murder in custody, and the petitioner is seeking justice for the same,” advocate Grover said.

Faizan’s murder case was registered at the Bhajanpura police station on February 28. The investigation was later transferred to the Crime Branch of Delhi Police. The plea claimed that with the passage of nine months, it is now clear that the investigation conducted by the Crime Branch is a “sham, designed at shielding the guilty men in uniform, rather than investigating the crime”.

Justice Suresh Kumar Kait has directed the police to submit a status report on the case before the next date of hearing on February 1, 2021.

In August this year, the Amnesty International India in its report on the north-east Delhi riots had highlighted the death of Faizan. The NGO had said that he was allegedly detained by the police for close to 36 hours without any charge and then handed over to his mother after his condition deteriorated.

Later, Delhi Police in a statement said, “As per the investigation, Faizan along with others were caught in a riotous situation and were rounded up at the spot by the police personnel on duty. The police personnel seen in the video assaulting the young boys and asking them to sing national anthem are being identified and legal action will be taken against them.