Mohammad Nasir was shot in the eye during the 2019 Delhi riots.
The Delhi Police has been fined by Rs 25,000 and heavily reprimanded by a local court for mishandling of a case linked to the riots of February 2019. The court also said the riots victim, Mohammed Nasir, could approach the law for action against the Delhi Police.
Mohammad Nasir, who was shot in the eye during the riots, had complained against six people in his locality, identifying each one by name. One of the accused in the case is Naresh Gaur, a former BJP MLA.
When the police clubbed his complaint to a completely unrelated case, he had approached the Metropolitan Magistrate.
The lower court upheld his petition and demanded the police file a First Information Report in the case, upon which the police challenged the order in the sessions court.
After a full hearing, the judge said yesterday that the police action in the matter has been "shocking" and "ruthless".
"The mandate of the Delhi High Court Rules... has not been followed by either the police or by learned illaka MM in the matter, which clearly goes on to establish that the investigation has been done in a most casual, callous and farcical manner," the judge said in his order.
Questioning how the police gave a clean chit to the accused without any investigation, the judge said, "After looking at the whole case, it is evident that the police was working to save the accused".
The court also directed the Delhi Police Commissioner that the investigation in such cases be conducted in a proper manner.
Violence continued for several days in February 2019 in the northeastern parts of Delhi after days of tension between supporters of the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act and those protesting against it. More than 50 people died and around 200 were injured in the violence.