Parliament committee on human rights and gender has given investigative institutions 48 hours to answer to the committee regarding measures taken against officers who assaulted residents of a house during a court-ordered search operation in capital city Malé.

While the committee has decided to keep a close watch on the investigations carried out into the case by the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives, National Integrity Commission and the Professional Standard Unit of the Maldives Police Service (MPS).

During a committee meeting on Sunday, members had unanimously decided to give said institutions 48 hours to present details of their findings to the committee.

MP for Meedhoo constituency, Rozaina Adam stated that there is nothing that can be done by summoning said institutions to the committee right now. As such, she suggested the committee to summon them if investigations and actions taken against said officers are delayed.

Backing MP Rozaina’s suggestions, north-Maafannu MP Imthiyaz Fahmy stated that the officers must be punished and they must even undergo a trial.

While HRCM revealed that the video circulating which shows the officers assaulting the house residents must not be publicized and circulated, MP Fahmy opposed this, saying that it must be publicized if the acts shown in the video does not damage the victims.

Further, Dhangethi MP Mohamed Nazim stressed on the importance of finding out the root of such abuse by officers. As such, he stated that it is important to investigate if officers are being pushed to act out in such ways due to work stress or negligence in their training.

Committee members also unanimously agreed that the culture of police brutality must be brought to an end. Committee chair had stated that such acts are usually carried out in secret, going on to say that it is a warning signal for the People’s Majlis to carry out responsible investigations into the case, especially with such a video circulating among the people.

The committee took on investigations into the case on Saturday.

A video is circulating on social media of officers assaulting residents of a house, during a search carried out under a court order. They were seen kicking the resident around.

After the video was publicized, the officers went to the house next door to threaten the residents, who the officers believe to have recorded the incident.

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s secretary general Anas Abdul Sattar Anas, who lives in the house, said that the officers had entered after claiming that it was part of a police operation and had gone floor by floor checking the residents’ phones to delete the video.