Telangana DGP gets NHRC notice over Sircilla incident

New Delhi: The National Human Rights Commission, on the basis of a complaint and media reports, has issued a notice to Telangana Director General of Police Anurag Sharma over allegations of illegal detention and torture of persons belonging to Scheduled Caste and other backward communities from Nerela village in Siricilla Rajanna District of the State.

"The Commission has observed that the allegations raise a serious issue of human rights violation of the victims. Accordingly, the DGP has been directed to conduct a fair an independent enquiry in the matter and submit a report within four weeks," the NHRC said in a press release on Friday.

"Allegedly, the local police never acted on the complaints of villagers regarding innumerable deaths caused by the speeding Lorries of sand contractors. They are notorious for over loading Lorries with sand and driving them at a high speed disregarding the safety and security of the villagers. Reportedly, on 2nd July, a lorry of a sand contractor ran over one person belonging to Scheduled Tribe. After this, two Lorries were set ablaze by the angry villagers following which, the police indiscriminately picked up at least eight persons and brutally tortured them for four days before producing them in front of the Judicial Magistrate on the 8th July under serious offences. Allegedly, the men were threatened that their women will also be booked under heinous offences, if they complained of their torture," the press release added.