Muslim man forced to sing national anthem during 2020 Delhi Riots: Delhi High Court orders recording of eyewitness statement

The Delhi High Court on Monday ordered that the statement of Mohd Wasim, one of five people who were allegedly beaten up by the Delhi Police and forced to sing national anthem during the Delhi Riots, be recorded before a magistrate within a week..The Court passed the order while dealing with a plea by Kismatun, mother of 23-year-old Faizan, who lost his life in the incident.Advocate Mehmood Pracha appeared for Wasim and said that he was an eyewitness to what had transpired and, therefore, he would like to record his statement.Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Amit Prasad challenged the assertion and submitted that the Delhi Police had asked Wasim to join the investigation earlier, but did not cooperate.Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani heard the submissions and ordered that the statement be recorded within a week before the concerned magistrate..In her plea, Kismatun has 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.The petition seeks constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) and a court-monitored probe into the incident and the role of the police officials..Advocate Vrinda Grover appeared for Kismatun today and argued that the Delhi Police’s SIT has only proceeded in one direction and has not done anything to investigate the role of the Station House Officer (SHO) at Jyoti Nagar, where Faizan was assaulted.She said that the SHO and officers at the Kiri Nagar Police station are fudging and forging the records, and yet, those policeman are outside the scope of the investigation.“The incident happened in February 2020. Today we are in May 2023. The question I ask my self is: Is there a different threshold when the accused are in uniform?” she submitted.She further said that the investigation in the case can carry on for forever and until, and unless a court-monitored probe is conducted, it will never end.“I cannot be asked to wait for eternity.”.After Grover concluded her arguments, the Bench listed the case for the submissions of SPP Amit Prasad on May 30.