The Delhi High Court on Tuesday ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) led probe into the death of a 23-year-old Muslim man named Faizan, who was beaten and forcibly made to sing the national anthem by the Delhi Police, during the Northeast Delhi violence in February 2020. A video of the incident, showing some officers from the Delhi police beating Faizan and other men forcing them to sing the national anthem had gone viral on social media. Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani passed the order today while observing that the incident falls in the category of a hate crime and yet the investigation by Delhi Police has been “tardy and sketchy” and spared people (police officials) suspected of assaulting Faizan.The court in its order mentioned that the CBI can add to the FIR any other offence as may be found to be made out in the case, reported Bar and Bench.”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, according to the report. The court came down heavily on the Delhi Police and said that the investigation led by the department “does not inspire confidence.””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,” the court said. “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 court added. The court was hearing a plea filed by Faizan’s mother Kismatun. According to media reports, Kismatun in her plea has alleged that Faizan was brutally assaulted by cops 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.She sought the constitution of an SIT and a court-monitored probe into the incident and the role of the police officials.Advocate Vrinda Grover, appearing for the petitioner submitted before the court that the Delhi Police has done nothing to investigate the role of the Station House Officer (SHO) at Jyoti Nagar, where Faizan was assaulted.Grover 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. Meanwhile, the Delhi Police told the High Court that it is probing the incident but the investigation was taking time because certain videos and evidence have to be examined forensically.The Delhi Police claimed that it faced difficulty in identifying all the policeman in the viral video because their faces were not “clearly visible.”
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