Family: Authorities have erased Abdulla Rasheed’s death from memory

The authorities have erased the death of Abdulla Rasheed in police custody last year from their memory, allege his family.

Abdulla, 43, was arrested in a counter-drug operation from a café near the harbor of GDh. Hoadedhdhoo at approximately on October 25, 2022. The police hired a private speedboat to transport him to another island. He died en route.

Abdulla’s uncle Mohamed Shareef told Sun on Thursday that the family has yet to receive the autopsy results, months after his death.

Shareef said that when Abdulla’s body was flown to India for the autopsy, the police told the family that they would get the preliminary autopsy results when the body is returned to them.

Shareef said the family met with the president of the Deaths and Disappearances Commission (DDCom), Misbah Abbas, to share their concerns over the issue.

“Misbah himself told me he would assist us. But we have not heard from his since,” he said.

According to the family, Abdulla had repeatedly complained of chest pains when the police had him board the boat, and the officers there dismissed it as an act and denied him medical treatment.

His body was transported to India for an autopsy to determine the cause of death on October 31, 2022, despite protests from his family, who wished to have him buried as soon as possible. They made an unsuccessful attempt to halt the autopsy by filing a case with the Civil Court.

His body was flown back home and buried on November 5, 2022.

Abdulla’s death is under investigation by the National Integrity Commission (NIC), which said back last month that they were working on releasing their investigative report before the end of January. NIC confirmed they have the autopsy results, but declined to disclose it to the public, or to the family, citing it was an ongoing investigation.