UP trader's kin seek thorough probe

Nampally: M Arif, the brother of Abdul Manan, the UP trader who died under suspicious circumstances in Warangal allegedly under police custody, on Monday appealed to the State Human Rights Commission and State Minority Commission in Hyderabad to order an inquiry into the death.

Arif, along with MBT leader Amjedullah Khan and other human rights activists approached officials of the two Commissions, and urged them to order an independent inquiry into the death of the 35-year old man who was on a visit to Telangana for business purposes.

In his representation, he explained that in view of Ramzan-2019, his brother Abdul Manan along with five others all native of Muzaffurnagar in Uttar Pradesh were staying in a rented house and selling clothes for his livelihood. On May 27, as usual, all six of them left the room at 7 am for selling clothes.

Around 7.30 AM, when they were at Hasanparthy in Warangal, they were picked up by Warangal police and taken to an unknown place. The Warangal police asked them to show their identity proof on which they all produced their Aadhaar Card. Their entire belongings were checked.

Later, a team of police officials went to inquire about them with the landlord where they were staying. The police officials checked the room where they were staying and also inquired with the landlord.

Nevertheless, after some time they were all taken to another location and presented before some officer who again checked their Aadhaar cards and all belongings and they were asked to remove all clothes. "They were mentally and physically tortured in that office. Around 2.00 PM, my brother complained of uneasiness and chest pain and asked the policemen for some water and medicine.

But he was denied, while he kept on continuously complaining of chest pain but no one was listening. At one time, he was hit by an empty bottle when he asked for water. Suddenly around 4.30 pm he started vomiting and fell unconscious, then some policeman put him in an auto and took him to MGM hospital in town where the doctors declared him brought dead," Arif explained, while speaking to The Hans India here on Monday.

While on the other hand, he alleged that some senior police officers threatened others who were associated with his brother and asked all of them not to declare that Abdul Manan died in police custody. While his body was kept at the hospital, the next day, as the news spread in the town about the death of Abdul Manan in police custody, many people gathered at hospital and demanded an inquiry.

"As all the five were non-locals, after the death of Abdul Manan, they were afraid. The police forced and took a complaint from Shadab Ali (one of his roommates) mentioning as if Abdul Manan has died in his house and not in police custody and registered a case of suspicious death and post-mortem was done and later body was shifted to Muzaffurnagar in Uttar Pradesh. I request you to kindly order an inquiry into this incident and arrest all those police officers involved in death of my brother," he added.