Congress Leaders Reach Out To Governor Tamilisai Over Dalit Woman's Custodial Death

Dalit Woman Custodial Death: The Telangan Congress party has made allegations that atrocities against Dalit people have been on the rise since Telangana's current ruling party, Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) came into power.

The leaders of the opposition party reached out to the state governor Tamilisai Soundararajan on June 25 and asked to her to action for the safety of Dalit community in the state.

Dalit Woman Custodial Death:

This came after a Dalit woman named Ambadipudi Mariyamma was found dead in Addagudur Police Station on June 18 due to alleged custodial torture. The woman's son was also allegedly assaulted by the police.

The 40-year-old woman was arrested for an alleged robbery of two lakh rupees from a local priest's house. Mariyamma used to work at his place as a househelp in Govindapuram village. The congress leaders have also asked for the Governor to grant the deceased woman's son a government job and asked strict actions to be taken against the police officers who were involved in Mariyamma's alleged killing.

The accused police officers, constables Rasheed and Janaiah and Sub-Inspector V Maheshwar, have been suspended until the investigation concludes. Bhatti Vikramarka, Congress Legislative Party leader, alleged that the police officer violated the protocol by arresting a woman at night and keeping her in the police station without a woman police officer.

The First Information Report (FIR) of the case states the opposite. It says that a woman constable, named Vennela, was present when Mariyamma was being interrogated.  Bhatti further alleged that the police used third-degree torture on the deceased woman and her son which became the cause behind her death. Mariyamma's son Uday Kiran was with her when she died in the police station.

The police officers of the police station have claimed that Mariyamma died of cardiac arrest. On June 24, the Telangana High Court heard a plea filed by People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL). The High Court directed the Magistrate to conduct judicial inquiry of the matter. The bench also said that the Magistrate can conduct a second autopsy of the deceased woman's body if need be.