Delhi riots ‘national anthem’ death case: HC orders transfer of probe to CBI

The alleged assault took place on February 24, 2020, and a video of it was widely shared online in the days that followed.

The Delhi high court on Tuesday transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) the probe into the death of a 23-year-old Muslim man who, along with others, was allegedly assaulted by policemen and forced to sing the national anthem and Vande Mataram during the north-east Delhi riots in February 2020.

For representational purposes only. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

“I am allowing the plea and transferring the investigation to the CBI,” a bench of justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani said.

The court passed the order while hearing a plea filed by the mother of the victim, Kismatun, seeking probe by a court-monitored special team into her son Faizan’s death.

In her petition, the victim’s mother claimed that the police illegally detained her son after the incident and denied him critical health care, as a result of which he succumbed to his injuries on February 26, 2020.

The alleged assault took place two days prior to his demise, and a video of it was widely shared online in the days that followed.