Telangana: Independent fact finding team demands CBI probe into Riyaz encounter

Hyderabad: An independent fact-finding team of advocates and local residents have labeled the police shooting of 24-year-old Shaik Riyaz in Nizamabad on October 20 as a "fake encounter". Riyaz, accused of killing Police Constable E Pradeep Kumar, was portrayed by police as a notorious criminal.

The committee said that their ten-day investigation, which included interviews and site visits, suggests the encounter was staged to obscure a corrupt nexus involving police, counterfeit currency operations, and finance companies in the town. Riyaz, they noted, was legitimately employed as a recovery agent for several non-banking financial companies dealing in two-wheeler loans, an aspect allegedly omitted from the police narrative. The committee called for a CBI investigation and the establishment of a court-monitored Special Investigation Team to oversee the case until a CBI probe begins.

The report said that the police allegedly presented Riyaz, who primarily worked as a loan recovery agent, as a hard-core criminal, omitting evidence of his legitimate profession. Local accounts indicated his criminal cases were mostly civil in nature and exaggerated by police, violating his right to a presumption of innocence.

Riyaz’s family, including his mother, wife, and two minor children, were reportedly subjected to brutal sexual abuse and torture while in unlawful police custody, a claim corroborated by confidential sources, said the report. Riyaz is said to have surrendered to protect his family, only to die in custody. The report also raised severe doubts over missing or withheld evidence. Key items such as Riyaz’s scooter, weapons, CCTV footage, and call records were never produced. Eyewitnesses fear retaliation, and there are glaring inconsistencies in official testimonies, especially that of a key police eyewitness A CBI investigation covering the alleged custodial death, torture, extortion racket, and counterfeit currency nexus, said the report.

“Immediate preservation of critical evidence including CDRs, CCTV, and medical reports. Formation of a court-monitored SIT until a CBI takeover. Protection for witnesses and interim compensation and rehabilitation for Riyaz’s family. Registration of FIRs for custodial murder, sexual assault, and extortion against implicated officials are our immediate demands,” said social and civil rights activist Khalida Parveen who was part of the fact finding team.

The independent fact finding team consists of dedicated social rights and civil rights activists Khalida Parveen, Sarah Mathews, Majid Shuttari, Advocate Sameer Ali, Mohammad Abdul Taj, and Shaikh Sikandar.