Newsroom, October 21, 2025:

The Human Rights Forum has pressed for a judicial investigation by a Telangana High Court judge into the fatal shooting of Sheikh Riaz, a suspect in theft and chain-snatching cases, at Nizamabad's Government General Hospital on October 18.

Riaz, who allegedly stabbed and killed Constable Pramod during a custody transfer the previous day, was under treatment when the incident occurred. The group pointed to conflicting police statements, including an initial denial of any shooting by Commissioner P Sai Chaitanya, as evidence of a possible staged event designed to suppress challenges to authority.

The forum expressed sympathy for Pramod's family but insisted that responses to such violence must follow legal channels, not summary actions. It urged the High Court and State Human Rights Commission to act on their own initiative, launch a full review, and pursue murder charges against the involved officers, including immediate removal from duty.

Chaitanya defended the response, stating officers entered Riaz's ward after hearing disturbances, tried to subdue him, but fired when he grabbed a gun and ignored commands to release it. Standard procedures, including a case filing and autopsy, are now in motion.