HYDERABAD: A youngster, who allegedly refused to pay bribe to a government official to issue a licence, was allegedly beaten up by the police on the pretext of “harassing” the woman officer.
Following the attack on the youngster, who received critical injuries and was admitted to a private hospital and based on a complaint, police registered cases against Mominpet sub-inspector, agriculture officer (AO) Neeraja, her husband and three other police personnel for allegedly beating the youth and his brother.
P.Kanna Reddy, an engineering graduate, of Erravalli village in Vikarabad district wanted to set up a fertilizer business in Mominpet along with his brother Shekar Reddy. They applied for licence to start the business in early March but the officer allegedly did not process the application for almost two months.
When Shekar approached the AO to find out the reasons for the delay, she allegedly demanded `20,000 as bribe for issuance of licence. Kanna confronted the officer for demanding bribe and is said to have recorded the conversation with the AO in which the latter demanded bribe.
Meanwhile, Neeraja lodged a complaint with the Mominpet police alleging that Shekar and Kanna had been harassing her and obstructing her from performing duties. A case was registered following her complaint.
On May 19 Kanna and Shekar were arrested by the police at the AO’s office. They were allegedly beaten up and forced to delete the audio clips from Kanna’s phone. The brothers were thrashed again on the next day. When his health deteriorated due to the police torture, Kanna was admitted to a private hospital. Doctors found that both the kidneys of Kanna were badly damaged. Kanna approached Vikarabad SP who ordered an enquiry by DSP T Swamy.
The DSP said, “We have registered a case against Mominpet SI Raju, ASI Swamidas, head constable Shankaraiah and constable Shivaiah, agriculture officer Neeraja and her husband Veerabrahmam.’’