Hyderabad, December 8: If the citizens start relentless efforts for getting their rights then governments are forced to bow to their demands. The human rights organizations had started expressing their anger over police firing on Muslim youth and police excesses against Muslim youth post Makkah Masjid blast.
Andhra Pradesh State Minority commission on representation made by various organizations immediately came into action and appointed Mr. L Ravi Chandran advocate to know the facts regarding accusation of Muslim youth. Late Nirmala Gopala Krishnan, Mrs. Anuradha and Mr. Afzal along with Mr. L Ravi Chandran reached Cherlapally jail and met the Muslim youth undergoing punishment for the uncommitted crime and gained the truth. During the preparation of provisional report tears were flowing down the cheeks of Mrs. Nirmala Gopala Krishnan who is no more today. The stories of police atrocities on Muslim youth were only surprising for the Human rights organizations but were also painful.
The AP state minority commission submitted the report in September 2007 to the then CM Dr. Y S Rajshekhar Reddy but the government put it in cold storage. The authorities of the commission seeing the attitude of the government sent a copy of the report to national minority commission and requested to visit the state and get the knowledge of the situation on which a team visited Hyderabad in 2008.
Later the new National Minorities Commission chairman Wajahat Habibullah after reviewing the facts wrote a letter to the chief minister in August, asking him to take action on the recommendations, which also include legal action against the police officers involved in arrest and torture of innocent youths, rehabilitation of victims by providing employment commensurate with their qualifications and issuing good conduct certificates to all those acquitted in the case.
Urdu newspapers and other Muslim groups had been demanding that the government pay compensation. At last the efforts of State minority commission, Urdu newspapers (Siasat being the forerunner) and other Muslim groups have borne fruits and Andhra Pradesh has released Rs.7 million for innocent Muslim youths arrested and tortured in the 2007 Mecca Masjid blast case and a day after Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy announced in the state assembly that the compensation would be paid, the minorities welfare department Tuesday issued an order releasing the amount. The government released the compensation amount on the recommendations of the National Minorities Commission, which also asked the government to consider deducting the amount from the salaries of erring police officials.
Siasat news