PNS|Hyderabad
Former Minister Mohammed Ali Shabbir demanded that the State Government should set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the death of Mohammed Abdul Qadeer Khan, who died due to serious injuries inflicted by Medak Police.
He said that all the police personnel involved must be booked for murder and arrested immediately. He also demanded compensation of Rs 50 lakh for the victim’s family. Shabbir was speaking to the media on Sunday.
Shabbir strongly condemned the Police for trying to cover up the custodial death. “Why is Home Minister Mahmood Ali silent on this issue? Why is he not at least acknowledging the custodial death of Qadeer Khan? Is this the KCR government’s example of ‘Friendly Policing’?” he asked.
The Congress leader said that the death of Qadeer Khan due to police torture has raised many questions about the functioning of the police.
“Qadeer Khan was first picked up from the Old City of Hyderabad as a suspect in a theft case, brutally tortured for five days in a police station in Medak and then placed under illegal house arrest. He was denied medical help although he suffered multiple fractures, dislocation of the spine and renal failure. He had to escape house arrest to get himself admitted to a hospital in Hyderabad. The media has been reporting about the incident since Qadeer Khan was admitted to a hospital and the victim himself recorded a video narrating how he was tortured by the police. But neither the Home Minister, the DGP or other police officials reacted and now after his death, they are busy trying to cover up everything,” he said.
Shabbir said that Telangana was becoming the capital of ‘custodial deaths and torture. He said Dalit woman Mariyamma and her son Uday Kiran were brutally tortured by the police in Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district and later Mariyamma died in July 2022. Two more cases were later reported from Suryapet and Kamareddy districts.
“Instead of ensuring the safety of people, Home Minister Mahmood Ali leaves no occasion to praise the police and its ‘friendly policing’,” he said, adding that Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao never reacted to the rising incidents of custodial deaths in different parts of Telangana.
He also condemned MIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi for defending the KCR government on all issues including the custodial death of Qadeer Khan. He pointed out that Qadeer Khan was picked by the police from Yakutpura, which is part of the Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency.
“The MIM leader went to Bharatpur in Rajasthan to meet the families of two youths Junaid and Nasir who were murdered in Haryana by right-wing goons. While we strongly condemn the murder of Junaid and Nasir and demand stern action against the culprits, we expect Asaduddin to react similarly to Qadeer Khan’s custodial death. Why did Asaduddin not visit the Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad where Qadeer Khan was admitted for 23 days? Is he not trying to protect the KCR government as he did in the past?” he asked.
Shabbir demanded that the KCR government set up a SIT to probe the incident and arrest all the guilty policemen for murder.
