Delhi Police Failed To Control Violence, But Is Shielding Its Men

FIR has been filed against unknown persons and not Delhi Police, who forced the injured to sing the national anthem.

Violence in Delhi: Faizan is lying on the road in blood stained blue shirt (right). FIR has been against unknown persons and not Delhi police who forced injured to sing national anthem instead of providing medical aid. 

(Photo: The Quint)

Video Editor: Sandeep Suman

• Is Delhi Police shielding its men in a killing that took place during the violence in northeast Delhi?
• Why have the Delhi Police failed to identify the policemen involved in filming and abusing five seriously injured men in this viral video — one of whom, identified as Faizan, is now dead?
• Why does Delhi Police's version of the circumstances around Faizan's death differ from the details in Faizan's death certificate issued by Delhi's Lok Nayak hospital?

Each of these are pressing questions, without any answer.

A viral video that surfaced on 25 February showed five injured men lying on a road, surrounded by some policemen who can be heard abusing and forcing them to sing the national anthem and say 'Vande Mataram'.

Faizan, one of these five injured men, succumbed to his injures at the Lok Nayak Hospital in Delhi on 27 February.

While trying to find out what happened after the video was recorded, this reporter came across striking differences in the versions presented by Delhi Police, by doctors at the Lok Nayak hospital and Faizan’s family.

Joint Commissioner of Police (Jt CP) Alok Kumar told The Quint that the police had taken the 5 injured men straight to the hospital from the road on 24 February. He added that an FIR has been registered in the case of Faizan’s death, but the murder charges had been registered against ‘unknown persons’. Why? Because at the hospital, the 5 injured men gave a statement to the police saying they were beaten up by a mob, and not by any member of the police.

Joint Commissioner Alok Kumar also said that the cops in the viral video were not included in the FIR because they were not seen beating the injured men.

The Joint CP was asked why these cops were not being charged in the FIR under Section 304A of IPC, which is negligence leading to death; Wasn't the delay in taking Faizan to hospital also responsible for his death?

To this, Jt CP Kumar had no clear answer. He said a departmental inquiry had been initiated which will reveal why the cops abused those 5 injured men and failed in their duties as cops.

Point to note is that the Joint CP had told us that all 5 injured were alive when admitted to hospital. However, Dr Kishore Singh, medical director at Lok Nayak hospital, confirmed to us that Faizan was brought dead by the police on 24 February. Dr Singh’s statement directly contradicts Jt CP Alok Kumar’s claim. 

Faizan’s Family Took Him To Hospital, Not Police

To find out more, we spoke to Faizan’s family.

They gave us a completely different sequence of events, which they supported with documents.

Faizan’s mother says her son was NOT taken to the hospital from the road. She says the police took him to Jyoti Nagar police station on 24 February. She went to meet Faizan at the police station the same day but was not allowed to meet him. For two days, Faizan was kept in police custody.

“On <b>25 February</b>, we got a call from the police station asking us to take Faizan home. He was in pain when we brought him late night. On <b>26 February</b>,<b> </b>we took him to Lok Nayak hospital for medical treatment.”

<b>Faizan’s mother</b>

Faizan’s mother showed us his death certificate which clearly shows date of admission to the hospital as 26 February and date of death, 27 February.

When we asked Dr Kishore Singh of Lok Nayak hospital how was Faizan brought in dead on 24 February when the death certificate shows that he died on 27 February, Dr Singh, instead of answering, asked us to speak to his junior, Dr Ritu Saxena.

Dr Ritu Saxena told us that the dates on the death certificate were correct. She said Faizan was admitted to the neurosurgery ward on 26 February.

She also said he was brought to the hospital by his family members, and NOT by the police.

But she refused to reveal the cause of Faizan’s death. She said the post-mortem report is with Delhi Police.

So, we ask – why did a senior cop, a Joint Commissioner of Police, and the medical director at Lok Nayak Hospital give us contradictory information?   

Joint Commissioner Alok Kumar also told The Quint that the policemen who forced the five injured men to sing the national anthem have not yet been identified.

Commenting on this, former IPS officer YP Singh said, “Police, if they want, can identify those policemen in no time. Police have multiple resources available to do this. But it seems they are trying to protect their men.”

Legal experts say, the policemen who abused the five individuals should be named and investigated in the FIR on Faizan’s killing, stating that a departmental inquiry is not enough.

So, clearly, a LOT of questions for Delhi Police to answer -

• First, is it so difficult to identify the policemen when there are not one but two videos of the incident from different angles?
• The local Station House Officer (SHO) of a police station always knows where his officers are deployed. Why can’t the concerned SHO identify these abusive cops?
• Is the Delhi Police trying to shield their officers?
• Will Delhi Police register an FIR against the policemen to investigate their role in Faizan’s death? Will they be charged with murder? Or at the very least, of grave negligence?
• Will Delhi Police do better this time than a shoddy departmental inquiry and not sweep the matter under the carpet?

(The Quint will continue to track this story further.)