The encounter killing of four undertrial prisoners at Warangal evoked sharp reaction from several quarters. The Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen has convened an emergency meeting on Wednesday to take stock of the situation. Representatives of various minority organisations, including the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, are expected to attend.
The Majlis demanded a judicial probe by a sitting high court judge into the encounter and termed it as ‘extra judicial retaliatory killings’ by the State police.
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In a statement issued here on Tuesday, Majlis president, Asaduddin Owaisi, said the Suraypet incident was a terrorist act which everyone condemned and expressed solidarity with the police. But the police seemed to be on a retaliatory killing spree by gunning down undertrail prisoners to avenge the Suryapet incident.
The prisoners were facing terror charges and it was for the courts to decide. The police cannot take over the powers of judiciary and resort to extra judicial killings, Mr. Owaisi remarked.
He said there were reports of the undertrial prisoners being tortured and brutally killed in an ‘alleged encounter’.
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The Majlis chief asked the government to follow the guidelines of Supreme Court and the National Human Rights Commission and book cases against the policemen involved in the encounter.
The Majlis Bachao Tahreek leader leader, Amjed Ullah Khan, ridiculed the contention of police that they failed to overpower a handcuffed suspect who tried to snatch a weapon from the police constable.
By killing all of them in a shootout, the police sent a wrong message that they took revenge for killing of three policemen, Mr. Khan said and demanded a thorough inquiry into the incident through a sitting judge of the High Court.
‘Bundle of lies’
The Civil Liberties Monitoring Committee (CLMC) termed as a ‘bundle of lies’ the story planted by top police brass about the encounter and said the Telangana police was under the influence of fascist mindset. High level officers planned the killing to send the message to the Muslim community that their lives were at the mercy of police. “It is a clear act of suppression”, said CLMC general secretary, Lateef Mohd Khan.
In a statement he said the recent custodial deaths, encounter killings and illegal detentions clearly indicated that nothing had changed in the newly formed State of Telangana.
He demanded the Chief Minister to act as per the assurances given or resign from the post. He wanted the judiciary to take suo moto action and protect the Muslim prisoners.
In a separate statement, V. Raghunath, state joint secretary, Civil Liberties Committee, Telangana and AP, said the State cannot assume license to kill any human beings as such killings were violative of human rights.
The visuals clearly showed that the diseased were handcuffed and unarmed and none of the police were injured. He also condemned the killing of 20 Tamil coolies in Seshachalam branding them as red sander smugglers.