“I have the right to know how my grandson died”: Grandfather of farmer Navreet Singh approaches Delhi High Court

12 February 2021
Hardeep Singh Dibdiba has filed a petition in the Delhi High Court, seeking an independent investigation into his grandson Navreet Singh's death.
CK VIJAYAKUMAR FOR THE CARAVAN
Hardeep Singh Dibdiba has filed a petition in the Delhi High Court, seeking an independent investigation into his grandson Navreet Singh's death.
CK VIJAYAKUMAR FOR THE CARAVAN

Hardeep Singh Dibdiba has approached the Delhi High Court for a court-monitored and time-bound investigation in the death of his grandson Navreet Singh, who had died on 26 January in Delhi during a tractor rally to mark the ongoing farmers protests. Navreet’s family believes that the police shot and killed him. The Delhi Police has denied this allegation. 

In his petition, Dibdiba asked for a “court appointed and court monitored Special Investigation Team comprising police officers with a demonstrable impeccable record of professional integrity, honesty, and efficiency, to carry out a time bound investigation” into his grandson’s death. He also sought directions from the court for the authorities to provide his family with copies of an X-ray report of the body and the video recording of the post-mortem, which was conducted in Rampur district of Uttar Pradesh, as well as a first-information report mentioned in the post-mortem report. Dibdiba also asked for the raw CCTV footage from the area where Navreet died to be placed on record. The court of the judge Yogesh Khanna heard the petition on the afternoon of 11 February and issued notice to Uttar Pradesh police and the chief medical officer of the District Hospital in Rampur. 

Rahul Mehra, the standing counsel for the Delhi Police, assured the court of the police’s cooperation and promised to provide the petitioner with the CCTV footage. “We don’t have a difficulty in sharing the documents, including the CCTV, with the petitioner, but I would like to seek some time to file a detailed status report,” Mehra told the court. 

Atul Dev is a former staff writer at The Caravan.

Keywords: Navreet Singh Farmers' Protest Uttar Pradesh Police Tractor Rally Republic Day Tractor Rally Delhi High Court
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