A Perspective on Vizag
Fact finding team meets various sections of people
Police Commissionerate, January 8, 2010
The Human Rights Forum has demanded that criminal prosecution be immediately initiated against the police personnel of the Gajuwaka Police Station for Thursday's custodial death of G Tata Rao. A fact finding team of the HRF visited Gajuwaka Police station on Friday and spoke with the police officials and examined the lock up room and bathroom.
The team also went to to Appikonda Chepalapalem and spoke with his friends and relatives of the deceased as well as local villagers. The team consisted of HRF State general secretary VS Krishna, Visakhapatnam district president M Sarat and district Joint Secretary N Srinivas. According to police version, Tata Rao hanged himself in the Gajuwaka police station bathroom at about 6pm on Thursday and that he was rushed to the KGH where he died is completely false.
Tata Rao, whom the police describe as a rowdy sheeter was not arrested on Thursday afternoon as the police claim but was picked up by the police at around 9am on Wednesday from Appikonda Chepalapalem. Tata Rao ran when he saw two police in plainclothes, Patrudu and Ramprasad, but they gave chase and nabbed him, beat him up and took him with them on their motorcycle, they said. It is revealed that Tata Rao's father went to the PS on Thursday afternoon and was told that the police demand money and that they had beaten him badly.