In an allegedly bizarre incident, Delhi Police has charged a deceased victim of last year's Delhi riots for his own murder along with several others. Babbu Mohammad, an autorickshaw driver was brutally beaten up by a mob of rioters at Khajuri Chowk on February 25 last year, he succumbed to his injuries two days later; and after months of investigation, Delhi police decided to charge him of his own killing.
According to a Millennium Post investigative report dated June 14, 2021, "The Delhi Police have, after investigating the case for months, decided to charge Babbu and 19 others (both Hindus and Muslims) in his own killing, accusing all of them of conspiring together with the common intent to commit rioting and murder Babbu among other crimes."
While the specific charge for murder (IPC Section 302) has not been slapped against the deceased but he has been charged with all other IPC Sections his co-accused have been charged with.
The article furthers that the charges against Babbu are under Sections 147 (Punishment for rioting), 148 (Rioting with a deadly weapon), 149 (Every member of unlawful assembly is guilty of crimes committed by other members with common objective), 505 (Statements conducing public mischief), 153A (Promoting enmity on religious grounds), 120-B (Punishment for criminal conspiracy), 34 (Acts committed by multiple people with common objective) of the IPC — all abated.
What this essentially means is that Babbu cannot be tried for these charges now as he has expired.
Babbu's murder
A Scroll reporter that interviewed Babbu's wife Shehnaz, mother of an infant to find details about the riot incident last year wrote: Babbu Mohammad had left for work early morning but got caught in the violence on his return. According to his neighbour Chand Ali, before Babbu Mohammad could reach home, on the main road leading into his colony, he was surrounded by a Hindu mob that "beat him like a dhobi beats clothes".
"When some of the men in our neighbourhood realised it was Babbu, they ran out to help him and gave chase to the Hindus, but by then Babbu was bleeding profusely," the article quotes Chand Ali adding, Babbu's neighbours then called his relatives to take him to the hospital.
The Scroll article quoted Shehnaz's elder brother, "The police could see he was dying but they kept delaying us by pushing us back towards our home. How much hatred can they have for us to try and stop us from taking a bleeding man to a doctor?"
An article published by The Wire by the same reporter Nikita Jain who co-reported the Millennium Post article is based on Farman, another accused named in the charge sheet.
According to the article, Farman's parents accuse the police of picking up Farman without any evidence. Mohammed Farid, Farman's father told the reporter, "The night after he [Farman] was taken away, which was close to chhoti Holi, we were informed that he had been put behind bars in a case related to the Delhi riots. The charge sheet had been filed the night he was picked up."
Pappu, the younger brother of Babbu whose murder Farman is accused of, told The Wire that the charge sheet does not list the names of the real perpetrators of Babbu's murder.
The Wire quoted Pappu, "They have named Muslims from my neighbourhood in the murder, while it is clear it was Hindus, a few of them even living on the other side of Khajusri Khas Pushta, who killed my brother... This was a clear case of communal violence. So why did the police pick up innocent Muslim men in the name of Babbu's murder?"
DMC found Delhi Police's role in curbing the riots inadequate
A Reuters report from last year stated that the Delhi Minorities Commission in its report on the Delhi riots had revealed that police had charged Muslims for the violence even though they were the worst victims. According to Reuters, Delhi police spokesman Anil Mittal rejected the allegation of bias and said police had acted fairly. "We have filed 752 first information reports, over 200 charge sheets, arrested over 1400 people in connection with the riots. We have also formed three special investigation teams and are still open to receiving complaints," Mittal told Reuters.
