It is a known fact that Indian policemen expect to eat free of cost
at restaurants across the country, running an officially sanctioned
dacoity extorting from small traders. They also never pay for their
groceries among other things. This particular incident took place
less than half a mile from my old apartment where my wife and I lived
about five years ago before we moved to the USA.
Does anyone wish to bet that the policemen responsible for this
murder would get punished? I'll bet my last dollar that the scumbags
won't. This is India, after all...
Mehul Kamdar
http://www.newstodaynet.com/newsindex.php?id=3048%20&%20section=7
Mystery death leads to myriad queries
Traffic in the busy Vadapalani area was thrown out of gear after
continuous protests near the R8 police station.
Current Chennai Stories
After DMK, CPI now targets Ramadoss
Archives - Chennai
V Muthukumaran | Thu, 13 Dec, 2007,03:08 PM
.
Tea shop owner Syed Ali (48) who died on Wednesday under mysterious
circumstances after being taken for interrogation by the personnel of
the R8 Vadapalani Police station, `was a victim of police brutality
and being a genial personality he never sold lottery tickets,'
according to locals and small traders.
Angry locals and traders gathered near the tea shop on 100 Feet Road
on Wednesday after the news of custodial death began to spread fast.
.
They were agitated and expressed harsh words over the death of Ali, a
native of Mallapuram district of Kerala who was running the shop here
for over 20 years.
Here is a collated account (from various sources) of the incident
that led to the eventual death of Syed Ali: `In the wee hours of
Wednesday (around 5 am), three constables had tea in his shop and
when he asked for money, they abused him and went away.
The three constables returned in a jeep with a sub-inspector at 7 am
and the four policemen dragged Ali and tea-maker Anthony Master into
the vehicle. They pocketed the Rs 1,050 found in the cash counter
before taking the shop-owner in the jeep,' said one witness.
`The cops rained blows on both of them. I intervened to ask them the
reason for the unprovoked assault on the shop owner and his staff.
But they slapped and threatened me to mind my business,' said R
Kumar, driver at Harini Ceramics, a showroom opposite the tea shop.
Within twenty minutes after the duo were taken for interrogation, a
telephone call to Shamseed, one of his three sons, informed that Syed
Ali had died at the police station. His other son Ashraff is living
with them at Azhagiri Nagar. Ali's wife and elder son Thamseen are
living in Kerala.
Vehemently denying that Ali was taken to the police station for
selling lottery tickets, Kumar and other locals, mostly roadside
traders, were of the view that it was a case of police excesses
leading to the death of an innocent man.
Only a few days ago, Ali had returned from Mallapuram and he did not
need to sell lottery tickets to earn money for his tea shop was doing
good business, said the agitated traders. After he swooned at the
police station, Master Anthony took him to Royapettah Government
Hospital and the police did not take the injured Ali to the hospital,
according to T Ananthan, secretary, Tea Shop Owners Association on
100 Feet Road.
He said the tell-tale marks of swollen eyes, body scars and blood
patches on Ali's shirt were clinching pointers that death was caused
solely by an attack on him.
The traders and friends of Ali along with few members of
Confederation of Tamilnadu Malayalees group led by its secretary
Suresh Babu met Police Commissioner Nanchil Kumaran on Wednesday
afternoon and briefed him on thel death of the tea-shop owner.
Perhaps forced by the picketing by traders and the public at the R8
station, Master Anthony under lock-up was released by the police late
in the night on Wednesday.
City Police Commissioner on Thursday told media persons that
impartial action would be taken into the alleged custodial death of
Syed Ali.
Police defend action
A case of unnatural death under CrPC 174 has been registered and an
RDO enquiry ordered in the matter. However, T Nagar DCP S Lakshmi
said Syed Ali, the shop owner, was taken to the police station only
for questioning as he continued to sell lottery tickets despite
strict warning to him in the past.
`There is no question of arrest or torture. We took him for routine
enquiry. But he was suffering from health problems after the surgery
he had undergone recently and this might have led to his death.
Anyway, we are waiting for the report of the RDO enquiry,' said
Lakshmi.
She was camping along with Assistant Commissioners R Natarajan
(Guindy) and A Soundarajan (Ashok Nagar) on the 100 Feet Road last
night to prevent untoward incidents as large number of traders and
locals had gathered near the tea shop which affected the movement of
traffic for sometime.
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