Mangaluru : Former MLC K S Mohammed Masood on Tuesday demanded judicial probe into reported police atrocity against Ahmed Qureshi, a suspect arrested in an attempt to murder case.

He was addressing a gathering of Muslims converged under the banner of Mangaluru Chalo organised by United Muslim Organisation, DK district, to condemn “police atrocity against innocent Muslim youth in the name of policing.”

Masood, also the former chairman of Karnataka State Minority Commission, described the ongoing CID probe into the case as a mere formality. “It is appropriate to order a judicial probe into the incident to ensure justice for victims,” he said.

Masood said that he had no hesitation in participating in the convention as a Congressman. The movement seeking justice for innocent Muslim youth, that initially took birth under the banner of Congress, later took many courses. He also dared the police commissioner to make public the CCTV camera footages to substantiate charges that the agitators incited trouble during the protest in front of his office.

Former mayor D K Ashraf who has been spearheading the movement as the president of United Muslim Organisation also favoured judicial enquiry. He said that many innocent youth in the coastal area had been bearing the brunt of police high-handedness. He, however, clarified that the organisation has no qualms over police probing into criminal antecedents of Qureshi, if any.

Taking severe exception to police trying to create a rift among the community by portraying any people who raise voice for justice as the supporters of either Popular Front of India (PFI) or Samastha Kerala Sunni Students Federation (SKSSF), Ashraf said such attempts do not augur well for the police who command respect in society.

Advocate Dinesh Hegde Ulepady demanded the endorsement of the gathering to exert pressure on the government to bring in amendments to Karnataka Police Act. “Whenever any police excesses are proven, the guilty officials should be shown doors,” he demanded.

Hegde also produced a youth named Shihaab, whom, claimed as another victim of police atrocity, before the gathering at the convention. Shihaab, who was picked up by Konaje police, had become a victim of police excesses. He was picked up suspecting his involvement in Karthik Raj’s murder case.

“However, when everything went awry for the police, a petty case was foisted against him under Karnataka Police Act and he was produced before the court. There are many such incidents in the recent past, where the police have targeted youths in the name of investigation,” Hegde said.