During the mob violence that gripped districts in North East Delhi and killed at least 42, a video surfaced of policemen in uniform taunting and beating injured protestors lying on a road. The video, later verified by fact-checker Alt News, was from Kardam Puri in Shahdara, Delhi, shot on February 24. Seen in the footage, being made to sing the national anthem, was a 23-year-old named Faizan.
After two days in custody, his family alleges that they received a call from the police asking them to collect Faizan. “What we got from them was a battered body, bleeding through its skull, with the jaw broken. This was not Faizan,” said Bablu, Faizan’s brother-in-law to News 18. “I saw my brother murmur in pain the whole night. He kept repeating ‘Police beat me up. They beat me up.’”
Faizan’s brother and mother (video above) confirmed his death, which came the very next morning when they were able to take him to hospital, and pleaded for justice. “Humare saath bahut nainsaafi hui hai, har jagah laaparwahi hui thi (A lot of injustice has been inflicted upon us, there has been apathy everywhere),” said Nayeem, his brother.
“Police waalon ko maarne ka adhikaar kahan hai? Kya yeh humari safety ke liye nahi hain? (What gives police the right to beat us up? Aren’t they here for our safety?).”
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