New Delhi: A Delhi court has officially acknowledged the chargesheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against two Delhi Police constables concerning the death of a 23-year-old man during the 2020 Delhi riots. The deceased’s mother alleges her son, Faizan, died as a result of “unlawful use of force” by police personnel.
Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Mayank Goel reviewed the CBI’s chargesheet, which names Head Constable Ravinder Kumar and Constable Pawan Yadav. The court found sufficient material on record to take cognisance of various offences.
The charges include those under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 325 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt), and 304(II) (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), read with Section 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention). IPC Section 304 Part II applies when an act is committed with the knowledge it is likely to cause death, but without a direct intention to do so.
This particular case was formally registered by the central agency on August 6, 2024, following specific directives from the Delhi High Court. The High Court had, in July 2024, transferred Faizan’s case to the CBI, responding to a petition from his mother, Kismatun, who had originally sought a probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT).
Kismatun’s plea, lodged in 2020, alleged that her son was subjected to assault and illegal detention by the police and was subsequently denied critical healthcare. She contended that these actions ultimately led to his death on February 26, 2020, shortly after his release from custody.
The backdrop to this tragic incident was a series of protests that began in mid-December 2019 across certain parts of Delhi, particularly northeast Delhi, concerning the promulgation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019. Faizan himself gained prominence after being seen in a viral video, purportedly showing him being assaulted and forced to sing the national anthem amidst the wider communal riots.
The court has issued summons for the accused police constables to appear before it on February 24.
Communal clashes erupted in northeast Delhi on February 24, 2020, escalating from violence between supporters and protesters of the citizenship law. The widespread unrest ultimately claimed the lives of at least 53 people.
