Published Oct 24, 2026 | 4:53 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 24, 2026 | 4:53 PM
Telangana Police
Synopsis: Mohammed Fayaz, a 22-year-old man from Mahbubnagar, has alleged that he was subjected to violence by two police constables during a nighttime policing drive. Despite efforts, no FIR has been registered against the personnel, who claim that the injuries were caused by him running into a wall. Meanwhile, police booked Fayaz in two cases. He has now approached the Telangana High Court alleging that the cases are fabricated and seeking action against the constables.
A 22-year-old man from Mahbubnagar has approached the Telangana High Court, alleging that two police constables had beaten him up on the intervening night of 2 and 3 October as he returned from a religious gathering. The 1 Town police then booked him in two cases, he said, but did not register an FIR against the constables despite a written complaint.
The petitioner, Mohammed Fayaz, has sought a departmental inquiry into the constables involved in the assault by an officer from outside the district. He has also asked the court to direct the police to register an FIR on his complaint, offer protection, pay ₹5 lakh as interim compensation, and bar them from arresting him in the two FIRs against him.
The incident has drawn comparisons with the controversial Operation Chabutra, as similar complaints were reported during the night police drive in Hyderabad city. However, Police have denied that the patrolling was part of the operation and said such drives under Mission Chabutra are not carried out without an Inspector-level officer present.
Fayaz is an auto-rickshaw rexin worker and the sole breadwinner for a family of three, including his mother and sister.
Md Fayaz alleged that police constables beat him with a baton during late night policing drive
In his petition, he said he was returning from a Dawat-e-Gyarwin Sharif gathering near Habib Nagar at about 12:30 am when two constables on patrol, who Fayaz identified as Kowdi Raju and Balaram, of the 1 Town police station, ordered him off the road.
He alleged that they began hitting him with batons, leaving him bleeding. Relatives and neighbours rushed him to the government hospital in Mahbubnagar. Medico-legal record cited in the petition noted a 4 x 1 x 2 cm laceration on the left side of his head, facial abrasions, and blunt-force injuries to the chest, neck and left leg.
Pictures and videos of his injuries have since circulated widely online, prompting social media users to question police violence in Telangana.
On 3 October, Fayaz filed a written complaint in Telugu, with the station house officer (SHO) of 1 Town Station, naming the two constables. Twenty days later, no FIR has been registered against them.
The petition submitted to the high court said no action was taken even after the Superintendent of Police (SP) directed an impartial inquiry, and argued that it violated the Supreme Court’s Lalita Kumari judgment, which made registering an FIR mandatory when information discloses a cognisable offence.
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Instead of acting on Fayaz’s complaint, the police registered two FIRs against him on the same day. He maintained that both were false and fabricated.
Human rights activist and advocate Abdullah, representing Fayaz, told South First that the FIRs contained several discrepancies, including the sequence of events and the identity of the policemen involved.
FIR lodged by Constable Kowdi Raju (No. 280/2026), alleged that Raju and PC Mogilaiah were on Blue Colts duty near the Pochamma Temple around 11 pm on 2 October when four raucous youths abused them for asking them to go home, and that Fayaz was hurt when he ran into a house and fell. It added that the group followed them to the police station, where Azhar, a Metro News Updates journalist, filmed Raju and published a video falsely suggesting he was drunk.
Fayaz, three companions and Azhar were named as accused under sections 132, 353 and 356 read with 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), besides Section 66(A)(b) of the IT Act, which the Supreme Court struck down in 2015.
Advocate Abdullah contented that Constable Mogilaiah was not on the beat that night, and that it was another Constable identified as Balaram in Fayaz’s complaint, who was patrolling the area and allegedly assaulted Fayaz along with Raju. The writ petition dismissed the story of a youth running into a house and falling as a stock explanation to account for injuries from a baton charge.
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Another FIR (No. 279/2026), filed on the same day, was based on a complaint by Fayaz’s neighbour, Mohammed Khader. It alleged that Fayaz opened the compound gate of Khader’s house around 12:30 am and knocked loudly on the doors, frightening the family, after which Khader pushed him away and asked him to leave. It invoked BNS sections 329(4) (house-trespass) and 351(2) (criminal intimidation).
But in a video interview with Metro News Updates YouTube Channel, Khader said police asked him to sign a blank sheet of paper and that the case against Fayaz was fabricated.
“I asked them what it was for. They told me they were writing a petition. I was hesitant but they pressured me to sign it,” he said.
He alleged that Fayaz was alone and knocked on his door to meet him. He reportedly left when he asked to and did not cause any trouble. Khader also alleged that the police took him away when he was leaving and beat him up.
SHO M Appaiah of 1 Town police station maintained that Fayaz’s injuries were due to him running into a nearby house and rejected claims of police violence, and have hence not filed an FIR based on his complaint. He also denied allegations that Khader was forced to file a fabricated case and said they have evidence. He added that they were working on a report based on the directions from district police officials.
Speaking to South First, he said, “What is the need to be out at that hour? If anyone is out at the time, it’s either the a police or a thief. We only reprimanded him for that. His injuries are due to running into a wall of a nearby house. How can we file FIRs based on just any complaint we receive?”
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The petition named the state government, the Director General of Police, the SP, the 1 Town SHO, two police constables, and Khader as respondents. The petition is yet to be listed for hearing at the Telangana High Court.
It sought an inquiry into constables Balaram and Raju by a senior police officer from outside the district, with the report reaching the court within two weeks. It has also sought a direction to the 1 Town SHO to register an FIR on his complaint and the medico-legal record, and to hand the investigation to an independent agency based outside Mahbubnagar.
The petition treated the two FIRs against him as a counterattack, registered right after he complained against the constables. It argued that they were meant to intimidate Fayaz and shield the policemen, and in violation of his rights under Articles 14 and 21. The petition asked the court to closely examine how both cases were registered and investigated, and cites Khader’s video interview to argue that FIR 279 was never a genuine complaint.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
