: The Campaign for Custodial Justice and Abolition of Torture has prepared a report on the death of Syed Mohammed in the S.P.Pattinam police station in Ramanathapuram district, which it proposes to hand over to the Chief Justice of India and the Chief Justice of Madras High Court, besides the National Human Rights Commission.
The NGO’s fact-finding committee, which conducted a two-day inquiry with local shop owners, the police, relatives of the victim and the local MLA, has said Syed Mohammed was taken into custody, tortured and killed before being shot at in the police station on October 14.
The inquiry found that the police picked him up on a verbal complaint on that date from mechanic Aruldass who ran a shop near the police station. Around 4 p.m., the shopkeepers near the police station heard loud screams from within and then three gun shots.
The committee, which interviewed witnesses, has recommended that all suspended or transferred police personnel be arrested and tried on murder charges. It also sought an additional compensation of Rs.10 lakh for the family and a government job for a family member. The report has demanded that the directions of the Supreme Court on encounter death be followed. These include filing an FIR, conducting a magisterial inquiry, submission of report to the judicial magistrate and conduct of trial after a full investigation.
