In a major setback to Telangana police, the Telangana State Human Rights Commission (TSHRC) has taken up the Nizamabad police encounter, in which rowdy sheeter Riyaz died, as suo moto. In this incident, he was killed hours after he was arrested by Nizamabad police in CCS Police Pradeep’s murder case.
The TSHRC issued notices to Telangana DGP and directed him to submit a report regarding this encounter. The Human Rights Commission responded by taking into account the news reports published in the newspapers about the incident that took place in Nizamabad on Monday.
The police say that the accused Riyaz tried to escape by snatching the weapon of the Armed Reserve Constable Service, after which the police opened fire in self-defense, resulting in his death. The DGP also announced that the accused Riyaz died in the firing in self-defense.
The Human Rights Commission said on this occasion that the Riyaz encounter raises important questions related to the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. The DGP was directed to submit the circumstances leading to the incident, the FIR and the postmortem report of the case by November 24.
On October 17, Nizamabad CCS constable Pramod was stabbed to death by rowdy sheeter Riyaz. Riyaz, an accused in several cases, was being taken to the police station when he attacked him with a knife. Constable Pramod died while undergoing treatment at the hospital.
Riyaz was arrested by the police on Sunday in this connection. The injured Riyaz was rushed to the Nizamabad hospital by the police on Sunday evening. In the hospital, he was allegedly snatched a gun from a constable and tried to escape. Riyaz died in the police firing in self-defense on Monday morning.
Meanwhile, the Telangana Human Rights Forum has demanded that a judicial inquiry be conducted by a sitting judge of the High Court on the Riyaz Encounter. The High Court and the Telangana Human Rights Commission have requested that this encounter be taken up as a suo moto judicial inquiry.
The State President of the Human Rights Forum, Atram Bhujanga Rao, and General Secretary, Dr. S. Tirupathaiah, have demanded that those who violated the law, whoever they may be, be punished. They have demanded that the policemen involved in the encounter be suspended immediately and charged with murder.
