National Human Rights Commission has issued a notice to the Director General of Police, Andhra Pradesh in connection with the death of one of the two boys who were questioned by the police for "three hours" after they were allegedly beaten by a mob in Mohammadiya Palem in Guntur.
The Commission, taking suo motu cognisance of media reports called for a report from the DGP in the matter within four weeks.
According to the media reports, carried on July 19, the boys on July 17 were severely thrashed by an unruly village mob suspecting their hand in the mysterious death of a 19-year-old girl.
Reportedly, the boys were seen half-naked trying to bring out the listless body of the girl from her home saying that she needed medical help.
According to reports, the police allegedly kept questioning them for three hours, instead of rushing them to a nearby hospital, the NHRC said in a statement.
One of the boys died allegedly due to the beating and reportedly the mob kept beating them even after the police arrived.
The Commission has observed that the contents of the news report, if true, raise a serious issue of violation of Right to life of a young boy and negligence by public servants. The reported police action indicates their "insensible mind set".
Their priority in such a case should have been to save the life.
As per the reports, the villagers thought that both the boys tried to molest the girl and killed her as she might have refused their advances. The large crowd gathered on the spot tied them to a tree and assaulted them with bricks and cricket bats.
The boy, who survived the severe public thrashing, told the media that for about three hours they were questioned by the police without any medical help. Not even a glass of water was given to them, the NHRC said quoting the reports.
