Reveal names of policemen involved in encounters: TFJ

April 19, 2015 12:00 am | Updated 05:44 am IST - Hyderabad:

Activists of different political and civil rights organisations staging a dharna at Indira Park on Saturday.– PHOTO: Nagara Gopal

Activists of different political and civil rights organisations staging a dharna at Indira Park on Saturday.– PHOTO: Nagara Gopal

The Telangana Forum for Justice (TFJ) has asked the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana governments to stop encounters with immediate effect and to make public the names of police personnel involved.

The TFJ, which comprises representatives of different political and civil rights organisations, called for institution of reforms in police administration and to stop victimisation and illegal detention of Muslim youth in Telangana. It further sought a judicial inquiry into the Alair encounter. The SIT probe was prone to internal bias of the police force and therefore not adequate to the scale of personal tragedy and police excess.

“Only the sternest action will ensure that the newly-formed States do not degenerate into police controlled satrapies where democratic rights are trampled upon with impunity,” said speakers at a dharna camp organised at Indira Park here on Saturday.

Prof. Rama Melkote, V.S. Krishna (Human Rights Forum), Amjadullah Khan (MBT), Kodandaram (TJAC), Abdul Raheem Qureshi (United Muslim Forum), Bhupal (CPIM), Hamid Mohd Khan (Movement for Peace and Justice), Lateef Mohd Khan (CLMC) and senior advocate, Bojja Tarakam, were among those who spoke.

In both the States, they said, police predictably claimed firing in self defence. But the newspaper pictures of Muslim undertrials shackled to their seats and the woodcutters lying among red sander logs pointed to the police taking law into their hands. The NHRC had taken cognizance of both the encounters and ordered investigations.

The speakers wanted the AP and Telangana governments to take note that the images of the shackled bodies of Muslim undertrials and the Dalit labourers would haunt public memory.

If justice was not done, they would brand our society intractably.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.