Hyderabad: Police assault Dalit minor girl\'s father at the behest of TRS corporator

Hyderabad: Chandanagar sub-inspector P. Srinivasulu beat up a Dalit father in trying to coerce him to withdraw a complaint against a man who had stalked, harassed and threatened his 16-year-old minor daughter. The man had also burnt their vehicle.

He was trying to save an accused, one Aravind Nani, 24, who allegedly colluded with a ruling TRS corporator from Serilingampally, Ragam Nagender Yadav, who asked SI Srinuvasulu to beat and threaten the man till he withdrew his complaint Nani also threatened to rape her sister, a differently-abled girl.

The Dalit man, a daily-wage labourer, had approached Chandanagar police to register a case against Nani, who is a resident of Papireddy Colony of Sangareddy. Nani had been tormenting the girl, a Class X student, by “professing his love” for her, for the past five months.

Incidentally, TRS corporator Ragam Nagender Yadav shot into controversial limelight when he assaulted a neighbouring 20-year-old girl over a parking issue, in September 2020, after which he tried to coerce that family into a “compromise”, and a case was registered with the Chandanagar police station after media reports exposed him.

It was also reported that Nani allegedly threatened to rape the differently-abled sister of the minor, if she did not accept his proposal.

The episode came to light when the minor’s parents questioned her for being moody and upset over the past few weeks. According to the father’s statement in the FIR, a copy of which is in possession of Deccan Chronicle, he said, Nani had been stalking the girl for five months.

“He used to follow her to nearby shops, to her tuition classes and tried to offer her biscuits and chocolates. He would often threaten her to accept his proposal or he would hurt her family. About three months ago, the victim, along with her brother, informed Nani’s parents about his behaviour and asked them to keep him away. However, he ambushed her while she was on her way home from her tuition classes and told her that if she rejected him, he would burn her father’s bike,” said the girl’s father in his complaint.

On June 2, her father’s bike was set on fire. A bike belonging to a neighbour was also damaged. It was later revealed that Nani had set the bike on fire.

When the minor girl confronted him about this, he allegedly replied that he would burn her father and flashed a knife, saying he would also rape her younger sister.

“He cut himself on his hand with the knife and scared the minor girl with his behaviour. He warned her that if she revealed this to anyone, he would upload her morphed photos and videos on social media,” her father added in his complaint to the police.

It was alleged that SI Srinivasulu, instead of registering a complaint, colluded with the TRS corporator, Yadav, and assaulted the father to take the complaint back. The SI also refused to add sections under the Prevention of Atrocities (against SCs / STs) Act, and instead, harassed the family to protect Nani, who was reportedly let go from the police station with station bail.

On Wednesday, after the intervention of the Mahila Sangam, whose members gathered at the Chandanagar police station, Madhapur DCP K. Shilpavalli took up the issue and said that she would be writing an inquiry report to Cyberabad police commissioner Stephen Raveendra.

When contacted, TRS corporator Nagender Yadav denied the allegation and said that both the parties had met him. “As I am a local public representative, Nani and the girl’s family approached me about 15 days ago, saying he had burnt the bike of the girl’s father. I heard their versions and asked them to be good to each other. I am nowhere involved in this issue. Someone is dragging my name to malign me,” he said.

When asked about further investigation, Chandanagar inspector K. Kastro said that the police had taken a complaint and placed Nani under arrest on Wednesday.

“We have now added Sections 11 and 12 of the POCSO Act, apart from Sections 435, 436, 354 and 509 of the IPC. An enquiry will be launched against the sub-inspector to check the allegations levelled against him. We are trying to verify the caste of the victim. However, we have added in our remand report that she is from the Scheduled Castes and the sections under the SC/ST Act will be added post verification,” he said.