While the Telangana police are investigating the alleged custodial death of Mohammed Khadeer Khan, South First’s independent investigation has found that the man initially accused of stealing gold suffered severe assault injuries.
This is established by the reports in all the three hospitals where Khadeer was admitted from 8 February to 16 February, the day he succumbed to his injuries.
Family members, activists, MBT and AIMIM leaders had earlier demanded that the the accused Medak police station cops be tried on murder charges.
The three hospitals are the Government District Hospital in Khadeer’s hometown Medak, Gandhi Hospital in Secunderabad and Renova Hospitals in Kompally.
South First spoke to the doctors in these hospitals to establish the medical history of the victim Khadeer.
Meanwhile, four accused policemen from Medak police station were suspended, including the SHO and sub-inspector. Later, the Telangana High Court on 20 February took up the case suo motu based on reports published in the media.
Admitted to Medak Government Hospital
Khadeer, 37, was admitted on 8 February around 12 pm at the Government District Hospital in Medak and stayed there for a day till 9 February under the supervision of the Resident Medical Officer (RMO) Dr Kiran Reddy.
“My husband was arrested on 29 January, but Medak policemen on record signed that they took him in custody on 2 February and handed him over to the family on 3 February. Since then, he was at home and policemen were visiting us occasionally, assuring that he will be alright and there was nothing to worry. But then my husband was not passing urine at all,” Khadeer’s wife Siddeshwari alleged while speaking to South First.
As per Khadeer’s wife’s complaint, accessed by South First, the cops forcibly entered the house of Khadeer’s sister on 2 February, thrashed him, and brought him to the Medak Police Station on charges of gold theft.
A worried Siddeshwari then first went to the district collector’s office to complain against the cops who had assaulted Khadeer. “There I met one of the local police constables who questioned why I was complaining,” she claimed.
On 8 February, Siddeshwari took Khadeer to Medak government hospital.
“I even asked the constable to accompany us, but he said he will drop in later. Due to lack of facilities, Medak hospital doctors asked us to take my husband to a bigger healthcare centre, preferably Gandhi hospital,” Siddheswari recollected.
Medak doctor recounts Khadeer’s assault
“At first his wife (Farzana alias Siddeshwari) did not tell us what had happened properly so we did not report a Medico Legal Case (MLC) but the next day when she told us the police beat him, we wrote an MLC,” Dr Kiran Reddy told South First.
Dr Kiran Reddy said Khadeer had contusion injuries that included bruises with sticks on the back and sides. “His serum creatinine level was very high, somewhere around 14. Usually, it is between 0.74 and 1.35,” the doctor said.
While noting that Khadeer’s kidneys were severely damaged, the doctor added, “His blood urea nitrogen levels were also very high, around 250, when they usually are between 6 to 20. He had renal damage due to muscle injuries.”
Renal damage is a condition in which the kidneys stop working and are not able to remove waste and extra water from the blood.
After seeing several test reports of Khadeer, the doctors at the Medak Hospital referred him to Gandhi hospital.
According to Siddeshwari, the Medak policemen took Khadeer to Renova hospital instead of a government hospital.
Medak DSP K Sydullu, had earlier denied the allegations of custodial death to South First.
“We arrested Khadeer by following due procedure. He was released after we presented him before the Mandal Revenue Officer (MRO). I am not sure how he died,” he had claimed.
Similar state at Renova Hospital
Khadeer was next admitted to the Renova Hospital on 9 February. He stayed under the supervision of Dr Nithin Reddy P till 12 February.
Dr Nithin Reddy told South First, “We received a medical history from the Medak hospital where it was termed as a case of custodial torture. When he was brought, he was dehydrated and had no urine output. He was also not eating anything.”
Siddeshwari said that policemen paid ₹50,000 at the counter and ₹25,000 for medicines of Khadeer. “I don’t know how much the final bill was,” she added.
About Khadeer’s injuries, Dr Nithin Reddy said that the man had blunt injury marks around his legs, back and hips.
“Reports suggested he had kidney failure. As he did not have any history of kidney ailment, I believe his injuries have played a role in kidney damage. Another reason can be the painkillers he was taking,” said Dr Nithin Reddy.
Related: Have complete faith, says wife of Khadeer as HC orders Telangana to file response on custodial death
‘Cops insisted on private hospitals’
Like Dr Kiran Reddy, Dr Nithin Reddy also pointed to Khadeer’s high serum creatinine. It was some 13 times higher or more than normal.
“So we started dialysis. We were sharing status reports with his wife and other relatives continuously,” said Dr Nithin Reddy.
However, Khadeer felt that the treatment was not up to mark as the Medak cops had shifted him there. “He thought something was fishy and did not want to be here,” Dr Nithin Reddy stated, adding that it was the police who paid the bills.
He added that Khadeer required attention for other organs such as heart and lungs. “But a cardiologist was not available, so we suggested further evaluation at a bigger hospital. We gave him several options such as Yashoda, KIMS and other hospitals.”
While noting that Khadeer wanted to get admitted only in a government hospital, Siddeshwari alleged that the cops still insisted on another private hospital.
“On 11 February night, they dropped us at a dargah near AIG hospital (Gachibowli). That night we slept there on footpath along with our three children. Next day the cops again came and asked us to go to AIG hospital, but Khadeer did not step out of the ambulance,” she stated.
On ventilator at Gandhi Hospital
From 12 February to 16 February, Khadeer was admitted to Secunderabad’s Gandhi hospital.
Superintendent M Raja Rao also pointed out that Khadeer was suffering from kidney failure and high Creatine Phosphokinase (CPK level).
“The cause for this damage was severe assault. When I spoke to him, he was undergoing dialysis. He also developed pulmonary diseases so we put him on a ventilator. Kidney failure had led to the failure of other organs. Later, he suffered a cardiac arrest,” Dr Rao told South First.
“After an initial three sessions of dialysis of Khadeer at Renova hospital, three more were conducted at Gandhi hospital. He died during the seventh session,” Siddeshwari recollected.
