The NHRC confirmed that it had received the complaint, and said it constituted an atrocity towards a Scheduled Tribe person under the law.
Published Aug 18, 2023 | 8:51 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 18, 2023 | 9:55 PM
File photo of the LB Nagar Police Station. (LbnagarPS/Facebook)
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) confirmed on Friday, 18 August, that it had received a complaint about the torture of a tribal woman by the LB Nagar police in Hyderabad earlier this month.
The complaint came from Advocate B Karthik Navayan, who also happens to be the legal advisor of the Samata Sainik Dal, a social organisation founded by BR Ambedkar in 1924 to safeguard the rights of all oppressed sections of Indian society.
A complaint was registered on 18/08/2023 by National Human Rights Commission through the HRCNet portal vide diary No. 13568/IN/2023.-HRCNET Team, NHRC against the brutal torture of a tribal woman by the LB NAgar police on the independent day 15/08/2023. pic.twitter.com/nQYnHYgcVl
— Dr.B.Karthik Navayan (@Navayan) August 18, 2023
The NHRC confirmed that it had received the complaint about the incident, and said that it constituted an atrocity towards a Scheduled Tribe person under the law.
Navayan said in a statement that he had written to the NHRC chairman that he read in a vernacular daily that a tribal woman was illegally detained and brutally tortured by the police people of the LB Nagar Police Station in Hyderabad.
He told South First that he would reach Hyderabad on Saturday and then interact with the victim and her family.
“I already spoke to one of the members of the Lambada community and requested an English and Foreign Languages University professor to be with the victim and her family,” he said.
He also told South First that he complained to the NHRC about the incident because he believed officials of higher ranks were involved in the case, and that was being covered up.
“The police personnel allegedly involved in the case have been suspended, but we want the responsible police officers to be removed from service and prosecuted according to the law, and also appropriate compensation to be paid to the victim,” said Navayan.
“I request the commission to direct the state or Central government to compensate the victim appropriately in the interest of justice,” he added.
Meanwhile, officials from the LB Nagar Police Station under the Rachakonda Commissionerate refuted allegations that the victim had gold earrings and ₹3 lakh cash on her when she was picked up, and have since been missing.
They said they were looking into footage from CCTV cameras to determine or rule out whether the woman had the jewellery or cash in the first place.
LB Nagar Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) B Sai Sree told South First, “We don’t believe any articles went missing from the victim, but an investigation officer will be assigned to look into the case.”
She added: “The tribal groups protested on Thursday as well, and we filed an FIR because we admitted that the police were at fault. However, further protests will not be entertained as they are hindering our work.”
As questions were being raised about police brutality, a group of 10 people — including members from the tribal community — was headed to the LB Nagar Police Station on Friday to demand the immediate arrest of the police officers.
Retired IAS officer Akunuri Murali — who would take part in the protest — told South First in its run-up, “Do the police have knowledge of the law? Or are they taking advantage of it because they are the police? A group of 10 members will sit in front of the LB Nagar Police Station and demand the immediate arrest of the cops involved in the thrashing of the tribal woman.”
He added: “Where are the CCTV cameras that the state boasts about? The police were given enough time to investigate the case and bring justice to the victim. Let the police be in jail for the damage they caused to common people.”
