They are criminals and should be dealt with: Delhi High Court on police who beat up, forced man to sing National Anthem

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked the Delhi Police to fairly conduct its investigation into the death of 23-year-old Faizan, who was allegedly beaten up and forced to sing the National Anthem by some policemen during the Delhi Riots of February 2020 [Kismatun v. State of NCT of Delhi Through Home Department and Ors]..Justice Chandra Dhari Singh said that he has trust in the investigating agencies and will not interfere with the investigation at present, but if he finds anything amiss in the status report, he would step in.“I am not here to interfere in any manner with the investigation but if I see any hanky-panky in this report, I will interfere. The investigation has taken two years, one of the SIT is headed by you (DCP). We have no reason to disbelieve you. But I am directing you to investigate the matter without any influence,” the judge remarked..In response to the submission of the local Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) that legal action would be taken against police officials, the Court said that "legal action" is a very mild word and the accused should be treated as criminals.“They are criminals and should be dealt with as per the provisions of law. The son of a mother has died, it has to be taken very seriously.”.The High Court was dealing with a petition filed by Faizan’s mother, Kismatun. The petition alleged that Faizan and a few other Muslim men were assaulted by policemen at Kardampuri. A video of policemen beating the men with lathis and forcing them to sing the National Anthem went viral of social media.The plea said that the police later took Faizan into illegal detention, where he was denied any medical attention, ultimately leading to his death. His mother, therefore, sought a Court-monitored inquiry into the incident..Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Amit Prasad told the Court that Faizan and others were apprehended by the Delhi Police and other forces who were present in the area during the riots, and that the local Station House Officer (SHO) took them to a hospital for treatment. Prasad said that the police had identified one of its officials who was present on the spot and shot the video.“His voice sample has been taken, but he was not the person beating them. We are examining the CCTV footage and other videos recorded of the area. We are investigating as to who were the men who beat them... So far as identification parade is concerned, this process will be done soon,” Prasad submitted..Responding to the Court’s question as to why no chargesheet has been filed in the case even after two years, the local DCP said that there are several technical pieces of evidence that are to be examined.“We have some technical evidence. We have zeroed in on one person who was there. His polygraph test was done. He was not seen beating. We have taken his voice sample. The evidence that we have are CCTV footages. All efforts are being made to investigate the incident,” the DCP said..However, Advocate Vrinda Grover, appearing for the petitioner, submitted that the police is not investigating the aspect as to what transpired at the Jyoti Nagar Police Station, where Faizan and others were taken to and kept for the night. She argued that the status report filed suggests that the police station misled the investigation.“There are two scenes of crime. They are not investigating the other scene. My son narrated to me what happened to him. They have to tell us why they are reluctant to investigate. Curiously, the CCTV in the PS was not working on the night of the incident,” she said.Grover said that the police has zeroed in on only one man, and yet there has not been a single arrest in the case.“They have zeroed in on one man. If there is a suspect, is there an arrest? Custodial interrogation is generally the chant by the State in other matters, but they have not even demanded that in this case. The question is who was accompanying that policeman? There is no murmur on that either.”Grover added she had several holes to point out in the status report and the police investigation..The Court directed the police to take the petitioner’s suggestions into account while conducting its investigation. The matter will now be heard on May 17..[Delhi riots] "Neither here nor there:" Delhi High Court on sealed cover report of Police in death of youth forced to sing national anthem