The Human Rights Forum (HRF) demands that the Chittoor police investigate the role of Sheik Shaukat Ali in the case of suspicious death of Sheik Yasmeen Bhanu and also add sections pertaining to murder and conspiracy to murder against Sheik Mohammed Lalu and one more person.
Following the news about the death of Sheik Yasmeen Bhanu on April 13, 2025, and the allegations of murder raised by her husband, Talla Sai Teja, a two-member team of HRF met Sai Teja and his family at their village, Potukanuma, in Puthalapattu mandal in the district to ascertain the facts. The team also spoke with the Chittoor II Town police that is investigating the case.
As per details obtained, Sheik Yasmeen Bhanu(25), a Muslim, and Talla Sai Teja(27), a Dalit, studied in the same college and fell in love during their education. Owing to the strict opposition from Bhanu s family to their union, the duo eloped on February 5 and got married on February 9, 2025, in Nellore.
Before their marriage, Bhanu s family members, including her cousin Sheik Mohammed Lalu , who learnt about their relationship, had created ruckus at Sai Teja s house in his village. They also filed a complaint at the Chittoor II Town police station. The couple, however, asserted their right to marry and the police counselled Bhanu s parents about the same.
Even after she came to live with Sai Teja at his village, Bhanu continued to face emotional pressure from her family, who wanted her to leave Sai Teja and marry a person of their choice.
As she refused to give in to the pressure from her parents, the family resorted to using a ruse that her father, Sheikh Shaukat Ali, was ill and wanted her to visit him. After a point of time, Bhanu relented and agreed to visit her father.
On April 13, 2025, Sai Teja dropped her at the PCR Circle in Chittoor town to be picked up by her family. Sheik Mohammed ‘Lalu’ and a minor who was driving the car (AP 04 AC 444) picked her up from PCR Circle at around 12 noon. Since then, Yasmeen has been unreachable. After multiple attempts, Sai Teja was informed by Yasmeen’s sister that she died of suicide and her body was shifted to Chittoor Government Hospital. A complaint pertaining to her alleged suicide was filed with the police (Cr. No. 55/2025, dated 13.04.2025) by her mother, Mumtaz.
However, the narrative of suicide was replete with quite a few loopholes. While the complaint stated Yasmeen’s father picked her up from the PCR Circle, eyewitness stated that he was nowhere to be seen there.
It was only Sheik Mohammed ‘Lalu’ and a minor who picked her up. The observable physical signs of suicide on the body such as dilating pupils, tongue position, clenched fist were absent. It is also intriguing that her father was missing from that moment, without carrying his phone on him. Similarly, both Sheik Mohammed ‘Lalu’ and the minor, too, were missing since then, with both leaving their phones behind. It is very difficult to believe that a father would go missing, that too leaving his phone behind, when his daughter was lying dead. This raises many suspicions.
There are many unanswered questions in this entire saga. The investigation of the Chittoor II Town police, too, is found wanting. This is a case that involved two marganilised and oppressed communities. The chances of certain forces exploiting this situation to their nefarious ends is not absent. The police, to provide justice to Yasmeen and Sai Teja and also to thwart any such attempts by the aforementioned forces, should carry out the investigation in a transparent and accountable manner. The probity of investigation is a must.
HRF demands that the police add sections pertaining to murder and conspiracy to commit murder and expedite the investigation and bring truth to the fore.
K. Madana Sekhar (HRF Chittoor District convenor)
G. Rohith (HRF Andhra Pradesh State secretary)
Chittoor,
16.04.2025