Hyderabad: Telangana DGP Anjani Kumar on Saturday directed the Inspector General of Police to supervise the probe of the alleged custodial torture-related death of Mhammad Khader who was picked up, by Medak police, suspecting his role in a theft case.
The 35-year-old daily wage labourer on Friday succumbed to the injuries he had sustained due to the alleged torture by the police.
The man was picked up from his sister’s house in Hyderabad on January 29 on suspicion of being involved in a theft case and was brought to Medak.
In a statement while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Medak, he alleged that he was kept in custody for five days and beaten up by policemen though he kept telling them that he was innocent.
“The cops said the person involved looks like me,” he said.
The police let him off on February 2 when he was unable to move his hands. They (police) asked him to tell others that he was kept in custody for one night. They also asked him to sign a paper and as he was unable to even hold the pen, one of the policemen signed the paper.
Khadeer named the two constables and the Sub-Inspector (SI). He said while the SI only slapped him twice or thrice, the two constables beat him up all over the body.
Due to the alleged torture, Khadeer could not stand on his feet, and his kidneys were also damaged. His wife Siddeshwari, alleged that police used third-degree methods on him. On February 9, he was admitted to a hospital in Medak.
As Khadeer’s condition kept deteriorating, he was referred to Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad for better treatment. However, he succumbed to his injuries on February 17 and is survived by his wife and two children.
The body was handed over to the family members early Saturday morning after autopsy and it was later taken to Medak for last rites.
Khadeer’s death triggered public outrage. Local Muslim community leaders urged Bharat Rastra Samiti (BRS) MLA M. Padma Devender Reddy to take action against the policemen involved.
Subsequently, the MLA spoke with the Medak Superintendent of Police (SP) Rohini Priyadarshini, demanding an investigation into the incident.
The SP transferred SI Rajshekar and the two constables, Pavan and Prashanth.
AIMIM MLA from Hyderabad, Kausar Mohiuddin visited Medak and attended the funeral on Saturday morning. He slammed the police for the restrictions imposed on the funeral and questioned if Qadeer was a “naxalite or terrorist”.
The MLA demanded that the three policemen involved in the case should be booked for murder. He said the FIR should be changed to include the names of the SI and the two constables.
