Man beaten within an inch of his life during the Delhi riots
Man beaten within an inch of his life during the Delhi riots Image Credit: Twitter

Dubai: The riots in the Indian capital, New Delhi, this past week have claimed a new victim, a man whose beating was caught on a video clip that would go viral. The man, identified as Faizan, was one of the five-six thrashed bloody by policemen, who made them sing the national anthem even as they pleaded for their lives and whimpered on the streets.

This latest death brings the toll of the clashes in Delhi to 43.

In the video, one can see these defeated men being prodded by cops who chant, ‘Azadi’, or freedom, threatening them while hurling vile abuse at them. What’s worse – reportedly, it was one of these uniformed men that shot the video.

One of the other victims of this brutality, who asked not to be named, was quoted as saying to Alt News: “Police had brutally thrashed the 5-6 (men). [They] broke someone’s hand, someone’s leg. My hand and leg are also broken. There are 8-10 stitches on my head. I am unable to speak. Policemen were saying do you want azaadi? [freedom].”

These men were allegedly against the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, which promises illegal migrants a way to legalise their citizenship status – unless they are Muslims.

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The act, which came into effect on January 10 this year, has sparked debate, protest and in some cases violent clashes across the country. The latest protests, which descended into communal riots, broke out in the north eastern part of the city.

The families of two other men who can also be seen in the video were quoted as telling Indian Express that the clip was shot at Kardam Puri on Monday evening.

While the video has seen an outpouring of rage against the authorities, there are some who have come forward to joke about the situation.

Others are however calling for justice to prevail, for some action to be taken against the authorities who engaged in such criminal behavior.