The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Protests in Nizamabad against youth's death

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jul 14, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Protests in Nizamabad against youth's death

By Our Staff Reporter

NIZAMABAD, JULY 13. The death of a youth who was undergoing treatment for head injuries in the Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) in Hyderabad on Tuesday triggered protests in minority-dominated areas of the town.

On June 27, two persons reportedly went to a STD public call office in Ahmedipura area of the town and made some telephone calls. The booth owner and the person who had made the calls reportedly entered into an argument over the payment of the bill. As tempers ran high, the customer went away and came back with his friends and allegedly beat up the STD booth owner and damaged the booth. Haseeb of the STD telephone booth suffered injuries and was admitted to the District Headquarters Hospital and later shifted to Hyderabad.

In a retaliatory attack, the STD booth owners and their friends raided the house of the customer and assaulted four persons. Of this, one Shagir sustained grievous head injuries. He was rushed to the headquarters hospital here and later advised to be shifted to Hyderabad as his condition turned critical. While undergoing treatment at Hyderabad, Shagir succumbed to the injuries on Tuesday.

As soon as the information about the death of the youth reached here, activists of the MIM, Students Islamic Organisation and Jamaat Islami took out a procession in the minority-dominated areas and forced the shops and business establishment to down their shutters. The protesters went around Ahmedipura, Bodhan road, Nehru Park junction, Quilla area and Barkatpura junction to enforce a bandh.

The issue took a political turn when the incident was raised in the Assembly by an MIM legislator. Adding fuel to this controversy, allegations were levelled against a councillor and a former councillor, alleging that they were backing the STD booth owners who had carried out the attack on the customers. In fact, the leaders were said to be away when the incident took place. A delegation of the minority elders even met the Minister for Rural Development, D.Srinivas, and briefed him on the incident.

The MIM, SIO and Jamaat Islami leaders took out a procession and sought the arrest of the persons charged with assaulting the customers, which ultimately resulted in the death of a youth. The police booked cases against both the parties but did not arrest anyone.

A police team left for Hyderabad this afternoon to bring back the body of the victim, which was shifted from NIMS to the Gandhi Hospital for post-mortem.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Andhra Pradesh