Minorities panel wants police station in riot-hit area

Hyderabad,  Andhra Pradesh Minorities Commission has recommended setting up a separate police station in Sikh Chawni area in Old City, which saw communal riots in May, to maintain peace and avoid such incidents in future.

This forms part of a set of ten recommendations made by the panel after the incident. The commission went through police report, newspaper cuttings and findings of its own members who visited the area before making these suggestions.

The commission noted the report of Cyberabad Police Commissioner indicated that Sikh Chawni and M M Phadia areas (both under Rajendranagar police station limits) are communally sensitive and have seen riots in the past.

Also, there is a likelihood of more communal incidents in future if corrective measures are not taken. In this backdrop, the commission has recommended that a separate police station with adequate force be established in Sikh Chawni at the earliest, an official release said today.

Burning of a religious flag in Sikh Chawni on May 14 sparked off communal riots. Three persons were killed in police firing and a curfew was clamped. Twenty-three people were also arrested.

The panel further recommended allotment of Government houses for the families of the dead besides providing a job to their eligible kin. Setting up of a fast-track court for the cases filed in connection with the incident was also among the recommendations, the release added.