Hyderabad, February 01: The State government is now under pressure from human rights groups to make the IPS officer, Ms Tejdeep Kaur Menon, herself pay the amount ordered by the National Human Rights Commission.
The NHRC had ordered the State government to pay Rs 4 lakh as interim relief to a couple, Ms G. Haritha and her husband M. A. Qadir, who were tortured and beaten up by Ms Menon who was inspector general of police (Special Protection Force) in August 2002 when the incident took place. The state police department had made the payment on Friday.
But rights activists have demanded that the State government order Ms Menon to repay the `4 lakh to the police department. The director general of police, Mr K. Aravinda Rao said, “The NHRC has given orders to the government to pay the compensation within two days. The government issued orders to us and the police department has paid `4 lakh. It is the government that has to decide whether this money has to be recovered from the official facing allegations.”
The civil rights activist, Mr Lateef Khan, points out that it is wrong for the taxpayer to have to pay for the excesses committed by the police. “The government must make the IPS official cough up. Why should the taxpayer’s money be used to pay for her violations? The government should attach her properties and salary for this.”
The president of the Progressive Organisation of Women, Ms V. Sandhya, said that the “National Human Rights Commission ruling is regarding the police department’s failure to protect the victims and delay in filing the charge-sheet. It is good that the government paid instantly, but they have to now think about making the perpetrator pay. In the final judgement, the fine has to be imposed on her directly.”
–Agencies