After a Karkardooma court order from 21 October directed Delhi Police to register an FIR in the case of Mohammad Nasir losing his left eye in the northeast Delhi violence within 24 hours, the concerned station house officer (SHO) of Bhajanpura police station told The Quint that they are going to ‘challenge the order.’
Nasir, who was happy about the order being passed on 21 October, is concerned why the FIR has not yet been registered.
“The wait was long but I was happy with the order of the court. I have waited since February for an FIR to be registered. I spoke to the concerned SHO on 25 October as well... that time, he told me he has not received any such order yet. They should register the FIR, why the wait?” Nasir said, adding that he remains hopeful.
His lawyer, Mehmood Pracha, who has been named in several Delhi riots charge sheets as someone who spoke at various anti-CAA protest sites, said, “The court order came out on 21 October and the FIR should have been registered by 22 October. The police have no respect for the courts. This is one more example of the blatant contempt that the police are committing, not only against the Judiciary but also the Constitution of India. Now, the matter is listed for 25 November, let’s see what happens.”
The court order had stated that an FIR be registered within 24 hours, which means it should have been registered by 22 October.
The SHO, Ashok Kumar, confirmed to this reporter that six days later, an FIR had not yet been registered. “We have not registered an FIR. We are challenging the order,” Kumar said, before he got busy with a virtual conference of hearings.
The Quint tried to call him back after some time for more details regarding the challenge, but he said he cannot talk to this reporter and has not responded to text queries ever since.
Amongst the six named as accused by Nasir, in the application that was moved in court on 17 July, at least four have been arrested in another case of murder and rioting, as previously covered by The Quint in an exclusive report.
These four men belong to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. You can read more about that case here.
How Nasir Lost His Eye
Nasir, 34, who works as a junior assistant at the National Cadet Corps, was on his way back from Max Hospital in Shalimar Bagh with his sister on 24 February.
“She was getting discharged after a kidney stone operation. We were returning with a cab driver who was Muslim. Many roads were closed and rioters were making the rounds, we were all very scared,” he said.
After taking detours and struggling to get home, Nasir, his sister, and the cab driver reached his residence. Nasir asked the cab driver to stay back for a while.
“He stayed back but his wife kept calling him. After some time, I stepped out with him to drop him close to the Gokulpuri flyover. I felt like I knew the area and could take him through a shortcut. I was also very grateful to him, for putting his life on the line and dropping us home safely, despite the rioters. Since I was from the area, I was confident no one would attack me,” Nasir said.
When Nasir turned to return home, the violence had spread considerably. “I stayed there for a while, but then a Hindu friend, who was my school friend, came and made me sit on his bike. He was in the area and passing and left me around a kilometre from my home. Throughout, I was walking carefully, hiding where needed, pausing where needed. Finally, when I was just about to turn towards the street towards my home, I was attacked by a mob of about 100-odd people,” he said.
“The crowd was shouting ‘Naresh Gaur Zindabad’, ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Muslims go to Pakistan,’’ Nasir added.
“The crowd caught me and then Naresh Tyagi, who was about 20 metres away, and shot me. Subhash Tyagi, Uttam Tyagi and Sushil were in the crowd and screaming slogans and leading the mob,” he said.
They were also armed with swords, sticks, petrol bombs etc. He confirmed that Naresh Gaur was not present at the spot.
‘Entire Case is a Lie’: Accused
In the application that was moved in court on 17 July earlier this year, Nasir named five people as accused. Of these, one is the former MLA of Babarpur in northeast Delhi Naresh Gaur, three brothers Naresh, Subhash and Uttam Tyagi, and Sushil.
Reacting to the news, 69-year-old Naresh Gaur said that he was unaware that his name would be in any such application. “I am unable to breathe properly, I cannot even stand without support. I have had several operations and only eat and sleep the rest of the time. I am old. How has my name popped up in this application? I do not understand. Who is this complainant?”
When told he has not been accused of being on the spot, but only that slogans were raised against him, he said he has a lot of enemies. When asked why he has these enemies, he explained how his Mangal (Mars) has always been strong, the ‘commander’ in his life, due to which he has grown to get money and fame.
“Due to this, many people go against me as well,” he said.
Subhash Tyagi, who has been named as an accused in this case, told The Quint that this case was a complete lie. While Subhash is out, his brothers Uttam and Naresh Tyagi have been in jail since 9 April, in the case of the death of Parvez, on 25 February. They’ve been arrested for rioting, murder amongst other charges.
The Quint has reported on the charge sheet in the case here.
All four accused, the three brothers and Sushil, are members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, The Quint has confirmed.
While Uttam had various responsibilities in the Sangh – he has been a long time pracharak and would give a lot of his time to their activities – Naresh Tyagi was also a regular and an active member, his brother Subhash confirmed.
The fifth named as accused is Sushil, who visited the RSS Shakha on and off, and helped campaign for the BJP during elections.
“I was not even in Delhi at the time. We were all in Baghpat for a wedding. This is a fabrication and completely false claim. We do not have the kind of money to fight one case and then another. My brothers are yet to get bail in the case from the lower court... it has already been rejected once,” Sushil said, sounding worried.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)