Telangana sets up SIT to probe killing of prisoners

The Telangana government on Monday constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe April 7 killing of five undertrial prisoners by police.

The six-member team will be headed by Inspector General of Police Sandeep Shandilya.

A day after Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao announced probe by SIT, Chief Secretary Rajiv Sharma issued orders constituting the panel.

Khammam's Superintendent of Police Shanawaz Qasim, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Intelligence, M.Dayanand Reddy, Assistanct Commissioner of Police M.Ramana Kumar, and Inspectors Raja Venkat Reddy and S.Ravinder are the members of SIT.

Police shot dead five undertrials near Aler in Nalgonda district on April 7 while bringing them to Hyderabad from Warangal Central Jail, claiming that they tried to snatch weapons and escape.

However, the families of the undertrials, human rights groups and Muslim groups have termed the killings "staged-managed". They said the undertrials were handcuffed and chained and hence they would have no chance to snatch weapons.

They alleged that the youths were murdered by police in cold blood to take revenge for killing of four policemen by terror operatives in the same district.

Meanwhile, United Muslim Forum, an umbrella grouping of Muslim organizations have termed the probe by SIT as "unacceptable".

Forum president Abdul Rahmeem Qureshi said they had no confidence in police and hence the investigations by a group of police officers can't be impartial.

The forum is sticking to its demand for a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or by a sitting judge of the high court.

The leaders of the forum, including Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi had called on the chief minister to demand inquiry by CBI or by sitting judge.

With the government turning down the demand, the forum has decided to organize a protest meeting in the old city of Hyderabad on Tuesday.