Fear is writ large in Shah Ali Banda, a Muslim dominated neighbourhood in Hyderabad’s Old City, after the heavy police crackdown in the area to quell the violent protests against T Raja Singh, the BJP MLA who was sacked after his latest burst of hate speech against the minority community.
Hussain, a teenager, was among the many youngsters TNM spoke to who were brutally assaulted by the police during the lathi charge at Zohra Colony in Shah Ali Banda on Wednesday evening. The 18-year-old, who works in a mineral water supply shop, said, “Usually we work till 11 pm, but due to the prevailing restrictions we were about to close around 10 pm. Just when we were about to wind up, we heard about some commotion outside and my boss immediately asked me to lock the gate. That’s when a policeman holding a lathi noticed me and tried barging in. Though I ran inside the shop, the police forced their way in and assaulted me. They bundled me into their vehicle. They also took away my phone, which fell on the ground.”
At 9.30 pm on Wednesday, protests were underway demanding the arrest of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Raja Singh, who had made derogatory comments against Prophet Mohammed. During the protest rally, some miscreants reportedly hurled stones at the police, after which they responded with a lathi charge. The police went on a rampage and detained at least 80 men. Those detained were housed in the Kanchanbagh police station and released later following the intervention of Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi.
18-year-old Hussain
Fifteen-year-old Mujahid, who works in the same water supply unit, recalled, “The agitated policemen started kicking the gates, which gave away quickly. When Hussain started running, I too got scared and hid in the shop. It was terrifying the way the policemen were beating Hussain. I was really scared to come out.”
While Mujahid turned up for work the following day, Hussain had to take leave owing to the injuries on his forearm, elbow and shoulders. “The police let us go around 3 am after our local corporator came to the police station. But they did not give me back my mobile phone. I appealed to them, but they did not seem to be interested in what I had to say,” he alleged.
In a viral video, at least six policemen in riot gear are seen breaking open the door of a house, grabbing the men and assaulting them even as their parents begged the cops to back down. TNM managed to speak to the residents of this house. Twenty-year-old Ahtesham Ahmed, told TNM, “We were having dinner. The door was latched from the inside. But the police started kicking it persistently and threatened us to open it. When they did not yield, my father opened the door. And soon at least six policemen rushed into the house and grabbed us, my brother’s shirt was torn in the melee. They forcefully put us in their vehicle.”
20-year-old Ahtesham Ahmed
He added, “All of us were beaten. Though we had nothing to do with the stone pelting, they verbally abused us saying ‘how dare you hurl stones at us’.”
The police action has left the residents frightened and uneasy; they said they wanted peace to prevail in the city. “I have not witnessed any communal violence in Hyderabad so far, this is the first time there is a threat to peace. We want peace to prevail. What Raja Singh did was unacceptable. He deserves to be punished. If he is not penalised, it will lead to normalisation of hate speech. Already Nupur Sharma got away without any punishment. Our apprehension is that Singh too will not face any consequence. Let him be punished and let Hyderabad regain normalcy without the situation deteriorating any further,” said 33-year-old Nizam Khan.
Shah Ali Banda is part of Hyderabad’s Old City, which is witnessing protests following Raja Singh’s hate speech. In view of the prevailing situation, several police check posts have been set up and communally sensitive areas are being manned by the police. Traffic diversions have also been implemented in these areas.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, the police arrested Raja Singh and invoked the Preventive Detention Act against the MLA. Earlier, the Congress and AIMIM had both demanded that the PD Act be invoked against the legislator for repeatedly making provocative comments. According to police records, 18 out of 101 criminal cases registered against Raja Singh since 2004 were communal offences.
Watch: Protesters demand BJP MLA Raja Singh's arrest in Hyderabad