By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net,
New Delhi: The Andhra Pradesh Minorities Commission-appointed Advocate L Ravi Chander committee report – that is gathering dust since October 2008 as the commission did not forward it to the state government – is now becoming a topic of hot public debate. The report confirming illegal detention and custodial torture of Muslim youths arrested following twin terror blasts in the city, has been published online by TwoCircles.net.
Politicians as well as civil rights activists are bringing the findings of the report in public domain.
Zahid Ali Khan, Editor of the leading Urdu daily Siasat and Lok Sabha candidate from Hyderabad, lambasted the ruling Congress government in the state for not taking any action on the report.
Talking to TCN from Hyderabad Zahid Ali Khan said: “It is unfortunate that government-appointed committee report has not been implemented by the government.” It is scared that everything will come out if Ravi Chander report is made public, he said.
Asked if he is going to raise the report and its findings in his election campaigns, he said: “Definitely, we will raise the issue. Muslims are agitated over the fact that the government appointed the committee and did not implement its findings. The government should take action immediately on the report.”
Lateef Mohd Khan, general secretary, Civil Liberties Monitoring Committee, said the report has become a topic of public debate in some assembly segments as well as in Hyderabad. “The report has become topic of public debate in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections in some particular assembly areas and in Hyderabad LS constituency because all atrocities to Muslim youths have been done here.” People and opposition leaders are putting the government in the dock over the report, he said.
“However, the main Muslim party MIM does not want the topic come out in public. They are not talking about this report. There is close relations between Congress and MIM,” he added.
Are people in Hyderabad enraged over the last two years’ torture of Muslim youths in the wake of terror blasts in the city?
“Yes, affected youths, their families and well-wishers are coming up and asking the sitting MP and MLAs as to why the innocent Muslim youths were illegally detained and tortured. As they and Muslim leaders have no answer they are trying their maximum to hide the report. People are angry with the ruling party. There is an undercurrent in the Old City area in Hyderabad,” Lateef M Khan said.
He also accused state minority welfare minister for the report not being forwarded to the government.
“The final report clearly mentions atrocities, torture, illegal detention and everything and violation of human rights. But the chairman of the minority commission Yosuf Qureshi did not submit the report to the government. There is a big role of minority welfare minister Muhammad Ali Shabbir in this matter.”
“Despite being minority welfare minister, he has been violating all rights of minorities and he is sitting on the report. He has been trying that the report be not made public because if the report was tabled in the assembly there would be no moral right of the state government to stay. They would have to resign because the report clearly mentions that a particular community has been targeted,” he said.
Link:
full report can be downloaded from this link: http://www.twocircles.net/2009apr08/ravi_chander_report_reveals_torture_and_illegal_detention_ap_police.html