Speed up probe into boy's murder: Owaisi

Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi has demanded that Hyderabad police speed up its investigations into the burning alive of an 11-year-old boy in the Mehdipatnam army garrison here.

The member of parliament from Hyderabad said the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the police should bring the guilty to book.

Owaisi said an innocent boy was burnt alive and justice can't be done by merely paying money to his family.

Referring to suicide by a soldier who was being questioned by the SIT in this case, the parliamentarian said the reasons for the soldier's suicide were not known.

He said SIT should speed up the probe, make its findings public as to who is responsible for the ghastly crime. He said the guilty should be arrested and sent to jail.

"If armymen are involved, they should be brought to book. Nobody is above the law. We respect Indian Army because the brave soldiers guard our borders but in this case the Army is answerable because this happened in their area," said Owaisi while addressing a public meeting at First Lancer here Monday night in memory of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein.

The MP said such incidents were not good for the image of the army.

Appala Raju, who is said to be prime suspect in the boy's murder and was questioned by SIT, committed suicide early Monday by shooting himself in the garrison.

Army authorities said the 32-year-old lance naik was probably under mental stress due to interrogation.

They, however, said the suicide is not an indication that he was involved in the incident.

Sheikh Mustafa, a student of a madarsa and resident of Siddiq Nagar abutting the military area, was found with burn injuries in the garrison Oct 8.

He told a magistrate in his dying declaration that some armymen poured kerosene on him and set him ablaze.

He succumbed at a hospital the next day.

Police had booked unidentified military personnel for the murder. The boy was allegedly assaulted sexually before he was set ablaze.

A five-member SIT headed by Deputy Commissioner of Police Shahnawaz Qasim was constituted Oct 13 to probe the incident.