Hyderabad:
The Andhra Pradesh government will pay compensation to 70 young Muslim men who were wrongly implicated in the 2007 Mecca Masjid blast case and were allegedly tortured in police custody before being found innocent by courts.
The Andhra government's move, seen as an acknowledgment that wrong was done, is likely to become an important precedent. The state's minorities welfare department has issued a government order or GO saying that Rs 70 lakh is being paid to these men as a "confidence-building measure and compensation."
Of the 70, 20 men will get Rs 3 lakh each and the other 50 will get Rs 20,000 each. The National Minorities Commission (NMC) had recommended this; it had also suggested that the money be raised by deducting the amount from the salaries of the policemen who arrested and allegedly tortured these men.
Nine people were killed in the blast during Friday prayers at the historic Mecca Masjid on May 18, 2007. Five more people were killed in police firing on protesters outside the mosque after the blasts. Following the blast, the police arrested dozens of Muslim men and filed cases against them. A fact-finding committee of the state minorities commission, in its report, alleged that the police tortured the young men.
The men arrested were acquitted by courts in the last one year and investigations led to the arrest of activists of right-wing Hindu groups for alleged involvement in the blast at the mosque. Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy had then offered to apologise to all the young men who had been falsely detained.
National Minorities Commission chairman Wajahat Habibullah had written a letter to Chief Minister Reddy in August, asking him to take action on the NMC's recommendations made last year. The commission has also suggested that legal action be taken against the against the errant police officers and that those falsely implicated be given employment commensurate with their qualifications and certificates to clear their names.
The Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) and other Muslim groups had demanded that the government pay compensation.
MIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi raised the issue in the Andhra Assembly during the debate on the no-confidence motion on Monday. The chief minister, during his reply to the debate, announced that the orders for payment of compensation would be released soon.
The Andhra government's move, seen as an acknowledgment that wrong was done, is likely to become an important precedent. The state's minorities welfare department has issued a government order or GO saying that Rs 70 lakh is being paid to these men as a "confidence-building measure and compensation."
Of the 70, 20 men will get Rs 3 lakh each and the other 50 will get Rs 20,000 each. The National Minorities Commission (NMC) had recommended this; it had also suggested that the money be raised by deducting the amount from the salaries of the policemen who arrested and allegedly tortured these men.
Nine people were killed in the blast during Friday prayers at the historic Mecca Masjid on May 18, 2007. Five more people were killed in police firing on protesters outside the mosque after the blasts. Following the blast, the police arrested dozens of Muslim men and filed cases against them. A fact-finding committee of the state minorities commission, in its report, alleged that the police tortured the young men.
The men arrested were acquitted by courts in the last one year and investigations led to the arrest of activists of right-wing Hindu groups for alleged involvement in the blast at the mosque. Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy had then offered to apologise to all the young men who had been falsely detained.
National Minorities Commission chairman Wajahat Habibullah had written a letter to Chief Minister Reddy in August, asking him to take action on the NMC's recommendations made last year. The commission has also suggested that legal action be taken against the against the errant police officers and that those falsely implicated be given employment commensurate with their qualifications and certificates to clear their names.
The Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) and other Muslim groups had demanded that the government pay compensation.
MIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi raised the issue in the Andhra Assembly during the debate on the no-confidence motion on Monday. The chief minister, during his reply to the debate, announced that the orders for payment of compensation would be released soon.
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