The police detention of several women and children recently has put Hyderabad on the edge.

"We will not sit quiet," said Lateef Mohammad Khan, general secretary of the Civil Liberties Monitoring Committee. "Things have gone out of hand and the police have started misbehaving with the women. Unless and until some action is taken, we shall not sit quiet," she added.

It all started on March 5 with the arrest of a terror suspect Motasim Billah. According to eye witnesses, the police came in a Tata Sumo with their faces covered and picked up Motasim. While the police claim that he is involved in terror activities, his friends and relatives say he is being targeted unnecessarily. Motasim, according to the police, had become a fanatic after his brother, Mujhahid Saleem, was shot at by the Gujarat police.

The women who have been arrested claim that they feared that Motasim could face the same fate as his brothers and hence panicked and rushed to the police station. They say that instead of hearing them out patiently, the police ill treated them and used foul language.

When the police allegedly abused the women, it only intensified their protests. The women allege that the media showed only one side of the story, saying that they only fought back because they were lathicharged.

Khan says it was wrong for a male police officer to take women into custody.

Khan insists that until action is taken against the police, they will not stop. They have demanded withdrawal of cases against the women and children and action against police officers involved.

The women, however, claim that one positive development that came out of the issue, was that the police commissioner of Hyderabad immediately showed the arrest of Motasim, meaning that the police would now be under judicial scrutiny.

Reportage: Vicky Nanjappa

Image: A woman protestor being arrested by the police in Hyderabad