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Raising doubts regarding the extrajudicial killing of Shaik Riyaz and the murder of a police constable in Telangana’s Nizamabad town, an independent fact-finding committee under the banner of Concerned Citizens Forum has demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The committee also released a report of their findings on October 31.
The report alleges custodial torture, forced confessions, investigative lapses and more.
Riyaz (24) was shot dead by police on October 20 at the Nizamabad government hospital, where he was undergoing treatment. Riyaz was allegedly shot in retaliation after he tried to grab a weapon from police personnel.
Riyaz was arrested on October 19 in Nizamabad near the Town 6 police station.
According to police, Riyaz, whom they described as a “habitual offender”, stabbed Constable Pramod Kumar on October 17 while being escorted on a motorbike in relation to a vehicle theft case. Pramod’s nephew was also on the same motorbike, police said. Riyaz then allegedly went on the run and was nabbed with the help of a man identified as Asif, police further claimed.
What the report says
The fact-finding committee includes social rights and civil rights activists Khalida Parveen, Sarah Mathews, Majid Shuttari, advocate Sameer Ali, Mohammad Abdul Taj, and Shaikh Sikandar, among others.
The committee said during its October 31 press meet that only a CBI probe can reveal the truth behind Riyaz’s killing, Constable Pramod’s murder, the role of Asif and his accomplices, an extortion racket allegedly involving police personnel and a counterfeit currency nexus.
“The official police narrative has deliberately portrayed the deceased Riyaz as a ‘hard-core villain’ while completely omitting any mention of his legitimate profession as a recovery agent for finance companies. This suppression of key facts seems aimed at vilifying him to justify the actions taken against him and his family, while protecting the real perpetrators,” the report says.
“Potential eyewitnesses who saw the body of Constable Pramod being dumped on the road, as well as those aware of the negotiations between the police and Riyaz over bribe amounts, are refusing to come forward and depose due to intense fear of police reprisals and doubts about how the judiciary might handle the case,” the report alleges. Pramod’s body was found on Vinayak Nagar Road.
Alleging a lapse in the police investigation, the report says that Riyaz had found Rs 3 lakh worth of counterfeit notes hidden in a scooter he had seized as part of his work as a recovery agent. Riyaz then allegedly converted Rs 2 lakh of the counterfeits into legitimate money and purchased a new Suzuki Burgman scooter.
“Shockingly, despite this scooter's clear link to the counterfeit discovery and Riyaz's
subsequent dealings, the police have neither recovered it nor produced it as evidence during their so-called investigation … This is a massive lapse that points to deliberate negligence or worse—suppression of evidence,” the report adds.
The report further says that Asif had owned the scooter Riyaz had seized. Asif had been allegedly pressuring Riyaz to repay the money. Riyaz, in turn, approached Constable Pramod Kumar. Pramod took Riyaz to his senior officers, who demanded a bribe, the report alleges.
Quoting local residents, the report also alleges that Riyaz and Pramod had met at a secret location to negotiate the bribe amount. The report goes on to say that Asif and his unknown accomplices attempted to kill Riyaz. However, Riyaz allegedly managed to escape, while Pramod was killed either by mistake or to silence him as a witness.
The report adds that Riyaz was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours of his arrest as mandated.
“Instead, he was subjected to relentless torture to force a confession for Pramod’s murder, something he couldn't do because he had no knowledge of the real killers, like Asif and his accomplices. Tragically, Riyaz died in custody from these torture injuries sometime between 19 and 20 October 2025,” the report says.
The report further alleges “egregious violations of fundamental human rights, a blatant erosion of the rule of law, and an intricately orchestrated cover-up.”
The report adds, “This includes custodial murder, sexual torture of vulnerable women and children, police extortion schemes, and a staged police encounter designed to hide a corrupt nexus between the police, counterfeit currency gangs, and finance companies operating in Nizamabad.”
Riyaz’s mother and wife submitted a letter on October 28 to the Telangana Director General of Police (DGP) in which they accuse the police of staging Riyaz’s killing. They alleged that they were assaulted in police custody.
The family also alleged that the slain constable Pramod had demanded Rs 3 lakh from Riyaz, of which Rs 30,000 had already been paid, and that fraudulent monetary dealings had taken place between them.
The Telangana State Human Rights Commission has already taken suo motu cognisance of Riyaz’s killing and directed the Director General of Police (DGP) to submit a detailed report. The commission directed police not to take any coercive action against Riyaz’s family until further orders.