Anti-terror charges sought in SSP office protest case

Police in Hyderabad have sought the inclusion of Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) provisions in an FIR registered over an alleged protest and clash at the SSP office, escalating charges against a group of transgender individuals and a former police official.

DSP Central Investigation Agency Inayat Qureshi has requested a civil judge and judicial magistrate to allow the addition of Sections 6 and 7 of the ATA to the case registered at Cantt police station on June 3.

He argued that the incident, in which protesters entered the SSP office premises, caused disruption and amounted to intimidation of staff, making it punishable under anti-terror laws.

According to police, over a dozen transgender persons had gathered at the SSP office demanding the reinstatement of Maria Sario as in-charge of the Women and Children Facilitation Cell, alleging non-cooperation by the incumbent officer, Sub-Inspector Benazir Zardari.

Maria Sario, a junior clerk previously removed from the post in December 2025, had also been suspended along with her former husband following departmental action. She was earlier accused in a separate case of misconduct, which was upheld in an internal inquiry.