Praja Court hears blatant suppression of rights

*Victims of police action during Chalo Assembly recall their horror * Judges to seek govt response to the charges Hyderabad: The minor boy, with both his hands tied with bandages, was showing how his skin was burnt from stomach till neck. Putting up a brave face, the 13-year-old eighth class student described his ordeal to a sizable audience, all strangers to him. His words barely audible, evidently so, because this unexpected development left him frightened and scarred. He was playing cricket in Osmania University ground on June 16 when he found an abandoned tear-gas shell that was fired by police on Telangana supporters, two days earlier. Curiosity drove him to 'check' the abandoned object and the next moment, four fingers (two each on left and right hand) were cut besides burning skin from neck to belly. The hall murmered, clucked in sympathy but there was no comfort in that. He stood on the dais while Prof. Madabhushi Sridhar, one of the judges of the Praja Court, relayed the sordid details. The boy was one of the 26 victims, all of whom shared their sorrowful experiences at a Praja Court held at Veterinary Bhavan near Masab Tank on Saturday on government's repressive measures during Chalo Assembly protest. Telangana JAC conducted this programme for sharing and understanding the agony of the victims in accessing justice and the psychological trauma they have undergone for the last few weeks. The three judge panel consisted of Justice Mohammed Ismail (a retired District Judge and former SHRC member), Madabhushi Sridhar (NALSAR) and Tankasala Ashok (Resident Editor of The Hans India daily). Justice Ismail left mid-way due to prior engagements and his place was filled by City Civil Court Bar Association president B Janardhan.