Chicago: Indian American Forum (IAF), a forum of secular liberal Indian Americans, has condemned the custodial death of a Dalit woman in Telangana. The forum also appealed to National Human Rights Commission to take notice of the incident and put pressure on the government to bring in strict laws to ensure ethical and constitutional responsibility of the police to protest the human rights of persons in custody. Earlier, National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) has issued a notice to the government of Telangana.
NCSC has issued notice to Deputy Commissioner and Superintendent of Police District Bhongir, Chief Secretary and Director General of Police Telangana asking them to submit a detailed report related to the case within seven days with inputs of the facts and information on the action taken on the matter.
NCSC Chairman Vijay Sampla cautioned the officers that if action taken report is not received within the stipulated time, the Commission would exercise the powers of the civil courts conferred on it under Article 338 of the Constitution of India and issue summons for personal appearance before the commission in Delhi.
“As Chairman I am duty-bound to secure the rights of Scheduled Castes and ensure that they get justice in all respects,” concluded Sampla.
As per the information available with NCSC, the Dalit woman, Mariamma, used to cook in a house. She was arrested along with her son Uday Kiran on the complaint of theft filed by the owner. It is alleged that the woman later died in Addagudur police station lock-up in Bhongir district due to alleged police torture.
With inputs from agencies