Members of about 120 Shia families of Iranian origin, settled in Bidar for over 50 years, have alleged that Bidar and Bangalore police indulged in gross human rights violations — including molestation of women — during the post-midnight swoop on their colony on February 4, purportedly to nab some persons involved in crimes in Bangalore.
Fathima A.A., a member of the community and corporator of Bidar Municipal Council, has complained to the Karnataka State Human Rights Commission (KSHRC) demanding a CID inquiry into the incident and action against the police personnel involved in the operation.
Guidelines flouted
Ms. Fatima has said in her complaint that the police had “mercilessly beaten up 40 men and illegally arrested them” in the course of the operation “throwing the guidelines of Criminal Procedure Code to the wind.”
She told The Hindu that the posse of policemen from Bidar and Bangalore arrived around 1.30 a.m., when people in the colony (called Irani Galli) were asleep. “They randomly barged into homes, beat up people, threw their belongings around, including copies of the Quran, and behaved most inappropriately with women,” she said. The police team claimed to be looking for suspected criminals harboured by the community.
“If they want to arrest someone, is there no method to do so? They cannot ransack a whole colony and insult an entire community in the name of arresting two people,” said an angry Ms. Fathima, who is here to demand justice with 15 other women of the community. She said that routine procedures were not followed.
“Our ancestors migrated to India around 700 years ago and we are citizens of this country. Kya hum sab log chor hai ? (Are we all thieves?)” asked Ms. Fathima.
“How come we don't look like thieves when they come asking for votes?” demanded Razia Ashiq Ali, whose 28-year-old son is one of those arrested and brought to Bangalore. “He is a tuberculosis patient,” she said. Shahnur, another resident, said that her son, who lives in Bhopal and was visiting her, was also arrested.
“Our generation has little education. But children in our colony now go to schools. This kind of an incident puts their future in darkness,” said Ms. Fathima.
Police deny charge
Meanwhile, the Bangalore police have termed the allegations as “false and baseless”. The police also said that they have “ample evidence” against the 36 people detained, and claimed to have recovered gold ornaments and other material worth several lakhs.
D.M. Krishnam Raju, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime), told The Hindu : “The entire operation was photographed and videographed. We have questioned and arrested only persons who have criminal backgrounds.”
Another highly placed source in the police said that they will shortly file a charge sheet with evidence. He said that there was an effort to “pressure the police department by making false allegations.”
