Homeland Security Minister Ali Ihusaan has defended the police investigation into the fall of Hawwa Yumnu Rasheed despite many concerns raised by her family and the public.
Appearing on the Ahaa (Ask) forum on Monday night, Ihusaan claimed that he had not noticed any mistakes made by the police in the investigation into the 21-year-old's fall on April 18.
"The police are still investigating according to the standards set for the police. There are a couple of agencies that investigate whether there is a problem in the police work. They are also looking into it. So far, I have not noticed any wrongs done by the police in this case," he stated.
However, Prosecutor General (PG) Abbas Shareef had pointed out several issues and President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu formed a special commission of inquiry because of concern over the police response to Yumnu's fall.
Ihusaan also said that action should be taken if authorities find issues with the police response and that even he must face the consequences if he fails to take action against the police in such a situation.
Meanwhile, former Kendhoo MP Ali Hussain said a presidential commission had to be formed into Yumnu's case because there is no confidence in the police.
"A presidential commission had to be set up in the Yumnu's case because the President himself lost confidence in the police in this case. However, the Home Minister says there is no negligence or fault of the police in the case. So it is confusing, who is the President?" he said.
Some wrongs by the police in the investigation into Yumnu's fall
Raudh Ahmed Zilal, the main suspect, was not arrested
Raudh, 21, was arrested six days after the incident due to public outrage. Before that, a court order was issued for his arrest.
He was summoned to the police station and questioned and he also tested positive for illegal narcotics.
Police allege that Raudh was aware of Yumnu's fall. But police refused to arrest him, although he left the scene without reporting the fall or helping Yumnu.
Failure to execute the Criminal Court order for Raudh's arrest
The court issued an arrest warrant for Raudh on April 18 and gave the police 72 hours to implement the warrant.
But police did not execute the warrant. The police requested the warrant from the court because they believed Raudh was involved in Yumnu's fall.
He was arrested six days later because of pressure caused by nightly youth protests in Male'. Police did not say why the first warrant was not implemented.
Failure to search places connected to the case
Police alleged that Yumnu, Raudh and seven others attended a drug-fueled party before her fall. Many of them have tested positive for drugs.
However, police refused to search the location of their party. The party was held at Transport Minister Mohamed Ameen's house, Maandhooge Dhekunuge. Four people, including Yumnu and Raudh, later went to Henveiru Kashiveli house.
However, none of these houses were searched by the police immediately after the incident. The two houses were searched on April 27, nine days after Yumnu's fall.
After the search, police said they did not find any evidence connected to the incident in the two houses.
Publicising Yumnu's video
Police publicised sensitive videos of the case, which show Yumnu and Raudh on the stairwell of Fentenoy house.
Police said it was not standard procedure, but released the video during a live press conference televised on national TV.
PG Abbas later ordered the police not to reveal sensitive videos in the future.
Lied about the CCTV camera on the ninth floor of Fentenoy house
Police held two press conferences, during which they said there was no camera installed on the ninth floor of the building.
However, journalists who visited the house saw that a camera was installed on the ninth floor. Police had also released footage from the camera. But the released footage was manipulated.
