Crime and punishment

 

 

The more things change, the more they remain the same. In 1996, the Supreme Court had laid down the ground rules on custodial torture and death. "It is aggravated by the fact that it is committed by persons who are supposed to be protectors of citizens. It is committed under the shield of uniform and authority within the four walls of a police station or lock-up”.

Years later, the situation in Andhra Pradesh remains the same. The Ravi Chander committee set up by the Andhra Pradesh minorities’ commission in September 2007 to examine charges that 20 Muslim youth had been tortured, has concluded that the victims had been held unlawfully. According to the committee, police illegally detained and tortured young men from the minority community without pressing charges after the twin blasts of Mecca Masjid on May 18, 2007, in which 16 people were killed and about 100 injured. “The Ravi Chander Committee report was submitted by the minorities commission to the Chief Minister in December, 2008. But it has been ignored. "This reveals the true attitude of the Congress towards Muslims. Chief Minister, Rajsekhar Reddy is exploiting Muslims in the state,” alleges Syed Taraq Quadri, former member of the minorities commission, who quit in protest against the non-implementation of the report.

Says the Ravi Chander report: "There also appears to be a growing cynicism that persons from a single community are being targeted... It is needless to point out that such a feeling will have to be erased and can only be erased if the government undertakes a pro-active stance and takes definite visible steps."

When TSI contacted the chairman of the Andhra Pradesh minorities commission, Yusuf Qureshi, he declined to speak. Quadri has claimed that it is Qureshi who has not prevailed upon the Chief Minister to take action against the culprits. The committee has also come up with some proposals. These include taking a "detailed statement from those held, examine records with relevant agencies and call for corrective action against erring police officers.” Interestingly, support for this cause has come from Indian-American Muslims. Petitions signed by 2,200 of them have been sent to Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh and others demanding the release of those held illegally and enforcement of the report, says Kashiful Huda, editor of a minority news website based in America. But at a time when the country is in the middle of a general election, it would appear that the decision may have to wait until a new government is in place at the Centre.