Civil Liberty groups in Hyderabad have evidence that Hyderabad police has been picking up Muslim youth and torturing them and intimidating them while asking question unrelated to the bomb blasts.

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Custodial violence includes torture and death in the lock ups strikes a blow at the rule of law, which demands that the power of the executive should not only be derived from law but also that the same should be limited by law-----transparency of action and accountability perhaps are two possible safeguards which this courts must insist upon this the famous judgment given by supreme court of India in 1997.

In view of the increasing incident of violence and torture in custody, the supreme court of India has laid down specific requirements and procedures that the police and other agencies have to follow for arrest, detention and interrogation of any person.

Failure to comply with these requirements will make the concerned official liable for departmental action. Not following these directions constitute contempt of the Supreme Court which is a serious offence, punishable by imprisonment and fine.

These are the words of Supreme Court of India, but there is no check on the implementation of this judgment, no body care about the direction of Supreme Court. And even the High courts not taking seriously and giving the free hands to the police to act according their will and wish. The recent examples are there, after the illegal detention and torturing of Muslim youths so many writ of habéas corpus filed in the high court of A.P, by stating and appealing that the lives of these Muslim youths are in danger, and police torturing them, but the high court has given one week time to police to submit the counter reply. Police got the sufficient time to torture and then formally produced them in the evening time at the residence of magistrate and sent them to the jail by implicating in false cases, and issued a press note that police arrested these youths in the morning (but the fact is that they are in police custody in the private torture cells located in the outskirts of city in different form houses) So in this way police succeeded to implement its tactics to suppress and target the Muslim community.

It is a fact that once again Muslims of Hyderabad under the police action in the name of investigation, Muslims lives in fear, police in civil dress and without number plate vehicles picked up hundreds of Muslims youths, warning the parents not to approach to civil liberties committee or media, otherwise they will have to face the consequences.

But in spite of these threats some parents contacted the civil liberties committee, and the committee doing its level best to protect the lives of the youths and exposing the illegal detention and torture, after these efforts police released so many youths from its illegal detention, and sent 26 youths to jail by implicating in false cases. When the parents and the relatives and civil liberties advocates met the youths in jail, the youths narrated the stories of inhuman tortured. Youths were not able to stand on their feet; they were tired and severely injured torturing clearly reflecting from their faces. When their parents asked about their health condition, they replied with the tears in the eyes that any how they got free from the Greyhounds, but still so many youths are in torture cells

Among them one youth Majeed is there from 23 days and police used third degree torture upon him, his flesh comes out and he was in unconscious state. Another youth is Shakeel who is also in illegal detention for 13 days and facing sever torture of police.

Stories of torture, just two examples..

1. Dr. Juniad who is a final year student of unani medical college, president of students’ union was picked up by task force police when he was returning from his college hostel to home on 03-09-2007. He was produced before the magistrate’s residence at the night time on 08-09-2007 as an accused in a fabricated case by alleging that he was apprehended from Nampally Railway Station on 08-09-2007 and he was conspiring against the state and some literature found from his possession.

When the advocates of civil liberties monitoring committee met him in the prison the facts of the detention came out which are as follows.

That he was forcibly taken away by the task force police in civil dress in a Tata sumo car on 03-09-2007, when he was returning to home and immediate after picking him his face was covered with black clothes and he was carried to unknown place. 3^rd degree Torture started on him from the same day and he was forced to take the responsibility of these serial blasts. He was given heavy electric shocks on all the body and even on his sensitive parts, his beard was pull comments were passed on his religion filthy language was used for Muslim women and his religion. During this torture and inhuman behavior he was questioned that why did he raise slogans against the police Zulm? Why did he raise voice against the Sohrabuddin’s fake encounter? Why do you attend the press conferences? Why you Muslims create more children?

Some five to six police men used to beat each youth. They sit on them.

He was given the meals after two days and when he was about to eat the meals police punched on his mouth. Dr Junaid said that all these days his face was covered with black cloth and he was not able to difference between the day and night. Due to this continues 3^rd degree torture and heavy electric shocks his health effected very badly and he is unable to walk and listen properly (as the heavy electric shocks were given on his ears also). During the investigation very few questions were asked regarding the blasts but the police stress on other unrelated questions to this blasts. Which type of investigation is being done by these teams?

2.Reyeesuddin, Age:25yrs who was working as a salesman in jewelry shop located at Secunderabad was picked up by the task force personnel and taken away in a without number plate tata sumo on the night of 31^st Aug at about 9:30 PM when he was returning from the shop after closing it. He narrated that first police personnel forced to sit him an auto they shifted him into tata sumo at Tank bund then they reached saifabad PS and obtained the direction from their higher authorities then started towards langerhouse they covered his face with black clothe after half an hour journey and crossing over the Gandipet tank they stopped the vehicle and dragged him into one building. They didn’t allow him to sleep whole night of 31^st august and tortured him mentally by asking family related and religious sentiment questions. At the early morning he heard the voice of Police Parade when the clothe was removed from his face for span of time he saw the building and surroundings and came to know that it was Greyhounds office. From 1^st Sep they started 3^rd degree torture on him they used different torturing methods like Rolling the wooden logs on his laps four to five police men sit on the log and they ruled the log on his laps, they bent his legs by keeping the wooden log in-between and one police sat on his shoulders, they used rocketing method in which they hanging him in reverse direction i.e. head is down ward and the feet are upward, heavy electric shocks were given him on all the parts of his body i.e. on his ears, chest, fingers and even on his private part unless he lost his consciousness.

During this process when he cried by saying Ya Allah then Task force Inspector Ramchandran and Harish Kumar Gupta IPS forced him to say Hey Ram Bhagwan he refused to say so on his refusal he was given the electric shocks unless he lost his consciousness but some youths who were also facing the same torture followed the instructions and said Hey Ram Bhagwan then only Task force Inspector Ramchandran and Harish Kumar Gupta IPS stopped the torture and asked them to tell who is the saver your Allah or our Ram Bhagwan? These officers insulted their religion by passing the remarks and pulled their beards hair. They used the filthy language for Muslim women and they said we need two encounter killings to reduce the pressure and we selecting these two from you. (As there were about 40 to 50 Muslim youths on their mercy and all of them were tortured same like these two) they also asked Rayees that why he is a witness in the case of killing of Mujahid Saleem by the Gujarat police.

So the committee here with questions whether this is the investigation of blasts or the harassment and targeting the Muslim youths by taking the advantage of blasts investigation?

The police picked up these youths in the name of investigation of blasts; detained them for weeks, 3^rd degree tortured and forced them to take the responsibility of these blasts but when they didn’t get any clue regarding these then police implicated these youths in fabricated cases and brought them on the magistrate’s residence at night time and send them to jail and these youths didn’t get the chance to open the mouth before the magistrate regarding the torture. till this date 26 youths were sent to the jail and so many are still in illegal detention among these detainees  Majeed(23 days) and Shakeel(13 days) are these youths life is in great threat because as per the other detainees Majeed’s condition is serious. There is possibility that these youths may be produced by implicating them in any conspiracy case before this Ganseh immersion as per the police tradition. Example Ghazi who was in the illegal detention of police for last twenty days and police produced him on 21^st of this month.

By seeing all these that police is still clueless and implicating the Muslim youths in false cases. Till date no body shown as accused in the bomb blast cases. Real culprits of these blast cases are still free and the Muslim youths are in Jails or in illegal detention. So this is the big question mark on the police investigation and it seems that Hyderabad police who is already in prejudiced mind setup not in a position to investigate the cases in fair and free manner.

So this committee demands

1.     Hyderabad police has failed and harassing the Muslim youths by taking the advantage of the bomb blasts so the hand over the investigation of all these blasts cases to the CBI immediately.

2.     Stop the harassing Muslim youths in the guise of investigation because Muslims are committing suicides due to the harassment of police.(see 22^nd ‘news paper)

3.     Release Majeed, Shakeel and other illegal detainees immediately. There parents also may take the extreme steps and because of their old age their health may be collapse.

4.     Withdraw the false cases and release the Muslim youths unconditionally, because these youths are the victims of police conspiracy and facing the punishment just because of being a Muslim

5.     Close the torture cells situated in the outskirts of the city and in greyhounds head quarter stop the torture immediately.

6.     Chief Minister is directly responsible for the illegal detention, 3^rd degree torture to Majeed, Shakeel and other Muslim youths.

 Chief Minister already own the responsibility of bomb blasts in the same manner chief minister should own the responsibility of illegal detention and torturing which is a crime against humanity and which is as much as sever as the bomb blast are because these are done by none other than his own police force. 

If the Govt is failed to fulfill the demands this committee will start the movement by approaching all the parties, organizations and newspaper editors and prepare the strategy by taking help of other mass organizations.

Lateef Mohd Khan - G. Secretary; Taher Ali Omair (Advocate)  - Joint Secretary;   Prof. Rehana Sultana – President; Civil Liberties Monitoring Committee, India, Amberpet, Hyderabad , A.P, India , 500013 Phone:-09391051586, Fax:-040-27403392, Email: -clmci@hotmail.com