AP human rights commision notice to cops

The Andhra Pradesh Human Rights Commission on Wednesday issue notices to the Hyderabad City Police Commissioner and the Hyderabad District Collector to give their explanation by June 11 for the police firing at a mob after the bomb blast in the historic Mecca Masjid in the city.

Five people were killed in the police firings and nine persons in the bomb blast and another 50 were injured in the blast and police firings.

The Commission issued the notices after a delegation led by Majlis-e-Ittehaadul Muslimeen MP Asaduddin Owaisi called on AP HRC chairman Justice B Subhashan Reddy and complained that police opened fire on innocent citizens in total violation of human rights. Police had used self-loading rifles, which are generally used against naxalites or terrorists.

The MIM complained that five persons were killed and seven others injured in the police firings. Talking to media persons later, Asaduddin Owaisi, who represents Hyderabad Parliamentary Constituency, alleged that Director-General of Police M A Basith had tried to mislead the people by saying that police had used only rubber bullets.

The Hyderabad MP demanded that the four police officers involved in the firing should be suspended and murder cases should be booked against them. The MIM furnished the list of the police firing victims -- the dead and the injured -- and urged the Commission "to enquire into the unwarranted firing which took place on 18 May 2007 near Mecca Masjid and initiate stringent action against the police personnel involved. The unwarranted and unprovoked firing by the police is a blatant violation of Human Rights and also Article 21 of the Constitution. Hence, the matter needs to be probed by the State Human Rights Commission."

In a similar representation to AP State Minorities Commission chairman Yousuf Qureishi, the MIM urged the Commission to inquire into the police firing incident and ensure that the erring police personnel are brought to book.

Meanwhile, Hyderabad City Police Commissioner has ordered the transfer of two police inspectors to the Police Control Room to facilitate a free and fair inquiry into the police firing on a stone-pelting mob after the bomb blast at Mecca Masjid on May 18. He also announced a reward of Rs 500,000 to anyone for providing clues on the identity of the perpetrators of the blast.

Falaknuma Inspector Sudhakar and Mughalpura Inspector Ramachandra Reddy, who were incharge at the firing spot, were transferred even as the Special Investigation Unit headed by Joint Commissioner of Police Harish Kumar Gupta has been constituted to probe the bomb blast and the police firings.