Naveen S Garewal
Tribune News Service
Hyderabad, July 21

Three Telangana policemen who were accused of killing a Dalit woman in their custody a month ago have been dismissed from service, officials said—a development that comes almost a month after the state’s high court ordered a judicial inquiry.

Sub-Inspector V Maheshwar and police constables MA Rasheed Patel and P Janaiah were dismissed over the custodial death of Ambadipudi Mariyamma, a 40-year-old cook at the house of a priest, Father Balashouri, who accused her of stealing Rs 2 lakh. Police allegedly detained both her and her son Uday Kiran and kept in custody for four days, during which they allegedly beat them up to extract a confession, sources said. She was allegedly beaten up in front of her children, sources said.

Mariayamma was a Mala caste woman from Chintakani in the Khammam district. Mala is e classified as Scheduled Caste by the Government of India.

After the incident came to light, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes issued a notice to the Telangana government, Deputy Commissioner and Superintendent of Police district Bhongir, Chief Secretary and Director General of Police Telangana and giving them a week to submit an “action taken” report.

Uday Kiran told senior policemen that the suspects kicked his mother “on the stomach with shoes. Unable to bear the pain, she wet herself”.

“Then she ell severely ill. At 9.30 am, when they tried to resuscitate her, she died in my lap,” Uday Kiran, who was hospitalised over his injuries at Khammam General Hospital, said.   

Telangana High Court ordered a judicial inquiry into the case on June 24.