Zaheerabad man dies by suicide after alleged police torture, tension in town

Tension prevailed in Zaheerabad after 30-year-old Gulla Sekhar died by suicide following alleged police torture during a theft case inquiry. His family and BRS leaders staged a protest on NH 65, while police detained MLA K Manik Rao and denied the allegations.

Sangareddy: Tension escalated in Zaheerabad town after a 30-year-old man died by suicide, allegedly after he was tortured by Zaheerabad police in the name of investigating an alleged theft case on Tuesday morning. The family members of the man and Zaheerabad MLA K Manik Rao staged a rasta roko on NH 65 along with the body of Gulla Sekhar, leading to a massive traffic jam on the national highway for some time.

Police initially tried to prevent a large number of family members of the deceased from taking the body to NH 65 and resorted to lathicharge to disperse them. However, the enraged people continued to protest, leading to a tense situation. According to the relatives of Gulla Sekhar, the Zaheerabad police foisted a false case of theft against him. He used to work as a driver for former ZPTC member Narsimulu.

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The family members alleged that, on being summoned by the police, Sekhar went to the police station, where he was tortured and abused despite his pleas that he was innocent. The police permitted him to leave the police station on Monday night only after BRS Mandal president and former ZPTC member Narsimhulu assured the police sub-inspector that he would bring Sekhar to the station again.

When the police summoned Sekhar to the police station on Tuesday morning, he ended his life by hanging at his residence, fearing torture at the hands of the police. While his father passed away a few years ago, Sekhar is survived by his mother, who is blind, and a younger brother.

As BRS leaders led by MLA K Manik Rao continued the protest, Zaheerabad police took the latter into custody. He was shifted to Zaheerabad Rural Police Station, while other BRS leaders were shifted to different police stations. The police resorted to lathicharge to chase them away from the busy road and clear the traffic.

Meanwhile, police also shifted the body to the government hospital in Zaheerabad for postmortem. Zaheerabad DSP B Saida Nayak condemned the allegations made by the family members and Zaheerabad MLA. He said the police had only summoned Sekhar as part of the inquiry.