Hyderabad: A joint delegation of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and All India Left Coordination (AILC) on Wednesday visited the family of Qasam Abdullah Hayat, who was killed in police custody in Godhra on September 16.
35-year-old Qasam Abdulah Hayat was a father of two minor sons, 17 and 10, who was reportedly intercepted whilst on his way back from Sewalya. The locality is 25 kilometers away from his residence in mohalla Eidgah, Godhra, Gujarat.
The joint delegation said in a statement to the press that as Hayat had a beard, and was visibly a Muslim, he was criminally assaulted by Hindutva goons in complicity with local police. “He was illegally kept in police station without producing him before the judicial magistrate,” the joint statement read.
Hayat was reportedly brutally tortured for three days until he died on September 16. The photographs taken of his deceased body show that every part of his body was fatally injured. It is likely that these injuries from the third degree torture led to Hayat’s dead, the joint statement read.
The brother-in-law of the victim, Qaim and his sister Bilkis had reportedly visited the police station to see and serve food to Hayat on September 14. Hayat reportedly narrated the torture he had gone through at the hands of the in-charge of police station, H.N. Patel, SINR Rathod, constables Bhasker and Ramesh Sidhraj. He was allegedly also assaulted by two notorious cow vigilantes and Hindutva goons, Pravesh Soni and Partik Kharadi.
Bilal, the elder brother of Hayat and Sahil, and his friend also reportedly went to the police station and met him under police custody. Hayat had then narrated the brutal thrashings he had got on September 15. Subsequently, Sahil was not allowed to meet Hayat since the morning of September 16, when he wanted to serve breakfast to him. However, he was forced to leave without “even serving the tea,” SDPI and AILC narrated in the joint statement.
The custodial death
On the afternoon of the same day, Salim, a policeman, visited the house of Hayat and informed Bilal that he had died. When the family members went to the police station, they were informed that Hayat had committed suicide. SDPI and AILC stated that if this incident was staged, which if put to scrutiny may not stand. Hayat was reportedly later surreptitiously introduced as a beef trader to the general public after his custodia death inside the police station.
HN Patel had allegedly threatened Qasam, to kill him in an encounter claiming himself to be a ‘master of encounters.’ SDPI and AILC further alleged that the due of hindutva goons, Pravesh Soni and Pratik Kharadi were given free access to beat Qasam in the police station.
SDPI and AILC alleged that the hindutva duo had been involved in about two hundred tortures of innocent Muslims in the name of ‘cow protection’ in the area. Dozens of reported complaints had been given to the police against this duo, however no action has been taken against them. The organizations allege full police compliance to the crimes against Muslims in the area.
The delegation said that collected facts from the family of the deceased and assured that all the legal and moral help will be provided to bring the culprits to justice. The family is reportedly under constant watch and the members of the family have been admonished to keep silence and to remain away from any public protest against the cruelty of the police otherwise they shall suffer more.