Custodial death of Dalit woman: KCR orders DGP to probe case, dismiss guilty officials
Hyderabad Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Friday ordered, after due inquiry, the dismissal of the police personnel responsible for the custodial death of 40-year old Dalit woman identified as Ambadipudi Mariyamma at Addaguduru police station in Yadadri Bhongir district on June 18
Hyderabad Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Friday ordered, after due inquiry, the dismissal of the police personnel responsible for the custodial death of 40-year old Dalit woman identified as Ambadipudi Mariyamma at Addaguduru police station in Yadadri Bhongir district on June 18.
The decision comes while the chief minister was responding to a representation given by a delegation of Congress MLAs at his camp office Pragathi Bhavan in the evening. This is for the first time after taking over as the chief minister of Telangana in 2014 that KCR had given an appointment to Congress MLAs.
He asked Director General of Police (DGP) M Mahender Reddy to personally inquire into the issue and take stringent action against the erring police officials – sub-inspector of police Mahesh and constables Raheed and Janaiah who are already under suspension. “After due inquiry, dismiss them from service as per the procedure,” KCR directed the DGP.
The DGP will now will visit the victim’s place to conduct an inquiry.
The chief minister also announced an ex gratia of ₹15 lakh to Mariyamma’s son Uday Kiran and ₹10 lakh to each of her two daughters. He also offered a government job to Uday Kiran, besides a residential house. He asked chief secretary Somesh Kumar to implement the decisions at the earliest.
Mariyamma, who hailed from Chintakani village of Madhira block in Khammam district, was working as a domestic help at the residence of a church priest Father Balashouri at Govindapuram village of Addaguduru block in Yadadri Bhongir district.
On June 15, Balashouri lodged a complaint with the police alleging that Mariyamma had stolen ₹2 lakh from his house. The police arrested Mariyamma, her son and his friend Shiva from their village in Khammam on June 17 and she died in the police custody the following morning.
The custodial death of Mariyamma triggered an uproar in the state in the last one week with the Dalit organisations, civil liberties activists and the opposition parties raising hue and cry.
Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee SC Cell chairman N Preetham alleged that Mariyamma had died because of torture by the police and that her son Uday and his friend Shiva were also beaten up in the police custody. The police, however, said Mariyamma had lost consciousness while she was being taken to the police station on June 18 and when she was taken to Bhongir hospital, the doctors declared her brought dead.
On Tuesday, Rachakonda police commissioner Mahesh Bhagawat admitted that preliminary inquiry had confirmed that Mariyamma had died while she was in police custody and that the erring SI and two constables were suspended.
Meanwhile, the state high court on Thursday, acting on a public interest litigation petition filed by People’s Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL) ordered a second post mortem examination, if necessary, apart from a judicial inquiry. The case was adjourned to June 28.
With the custodial death of Mariaymma snowballing into a major controversy, the chief minister called the Congress delegation on Friday evening to discuss the issue. He assured that the government would take stringent action against the police officials responsible for the incident.
He asked transport minister P Ajay Kumar, MP Nama Nageshwar Rao and district officials to accompany Congress legislature party leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka to the victim’s family in Khammam and extend the financial assistance.
Earlier in the afternoon, the Congress delegation met Governor Tamilisai Soudrarajan at Raj Bhavan and submitted a similar representation seeking appropriate action in the lock-up death case.
