Undertrial had feared murder by police: Lawyer

Viquar Ahmed, one of the five undertrials gunned down by police in Telangana on Tuesday, had expressed an apprehension that the police may kill him, his lawyer said on Wednesday.

Viquar had filed a petition in the trial court six months ago, expressing his apprehension that the police may kill him in a staged gunfight while bringing him from Warangal Central Jail to Hyderabad.

"He had complained that policemen are trying to attack him while transporting him and others from Warangal," said Abdul Azeem, who was representing Viquar and two others.

The defence counsel said Viquar's father had also submitted a petition to the chief justice of the high court and human rights commission stating that Viquar was facing threat to his life from the police.

On April 6, Viquar had requested the court to transfer him to a jail in Hyderabad. He had given this request in his hand writing and the court was to pronounce orders on it on April 7, the day when he and four others were killed.

The lawyer said the two cases against Viquar and his friends were in the final stage as only the statements of the investigating officers were to be recorded. "We were expecting judgment in a couple of months," he said.

Abdul Azeem dismissed the police claim that Viquar and four others were shot dead as they tried to snatch weapons from the accompanying policemen and flee.

He said all the undertrials were handcuffed and chained to the seats in the police vehicle and hence there was no question of their attempting to snatch weapons or escape.

Viquar and the four others were facing charges of involvement in various cases including killing of two policemen in Hyderabad. Police said he had formed a group called Tehreek Galba-e-Islam and was carrying out terrorist activities with his associates.