A city-based lawyer working at the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has landed in trouble for allegedly seeking sexual favours and demanding a bribe of Rs 50,000 from a 24-year-old woman who had approached him to settle a property dispute. The police took a complaint from the victim on Tuesday after hearing her on the SHRC premises.
The 24-year-old girl and her mother from Amberpet had approached the commission last month to settle a family dispute. They met Ram Mohan Reddy who assured help and collected a fee of Rs 1,000 to submit their petition. The mother-daughter duo wanted the commission to grant them protection against a member of their family who was threatening them over a property dispute. They had also appealed to the commission to help them get their property share lawfully as they were facing financial trouble. The commission had ordered the authorities concerned to investigate the matter and submit a report soon.
Meanwhile, Reddy contacted the victims and allegedly asked for a payment of Rs 50,000 claiming that he would have to bribe the members of the commission. Later he reportedly demanded that the daughter meet him alone at a city lodge if she wanted the case solved soon. Following this, the mother and daughter duo approached the commission and complained against Reddy. The commission took a serious note of the issue and called both the Abids police and the victim on their premises today and helped her lodge a complaint against the lawyer.
K Shiva Kumar, Abids inspector, told TOI that they had filed a compliant. Cautioning the public, a commission official asserted that a lawyer’s services are not required for approaching the SHRC. Gopal Singh, PRO of the commission, said, “Those approaching the commission should not encourage middlemen. Having a lawyer is not compulsory for filing a petition at the SRHC and no added expenditure is involved in ensuring justice.”
–COurtesy:TOi