In 2007, the women were allegedly gang-raped. (Representative)
Visakhapatnam:
A special court has acquitted 21 policemen accused of gang-raping 11 Kondh tribal women 16 years ago in a village in the state’s Alluri Sitaram Raju district.
The court held that the accused were acquitted primarily because of the failure of the two investigating officers to conduct a fair and impartial investigation.
In August 2007, women were allegedly gang-raped by police personnel belonging to a special team Greyhounds.
The trial began in Visakhapatnam in 2018 and ended on Thursday with the 11th Additional District and Sessions Judge-cum-Special Court under the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act acquitting the policemen due to malpractices.
Meanwhile, the Court ordered that compensation be paid to the rape victims through the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA).
According to a member of the Human Rights Forum (HRF), none of the accused policemen were arrested and some of them successfully retired while some died.
HRF-Andhra Pradesh State Committee Vice President M Sarath alleged, “11 tribal women were raped by Greyhound forces in August 2007 and a police complaint was filed against them but not a single accused person was arrested ” The Manch alleged that on August 20, 2007, a 21-member special police team went to Vakapalli village for a search operation, and sexually assaulted 11 tribal women belonging to the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG).
HRF said, “The fact that the court has ordered the payment of compensation to the Vakapalli rape victims shows that the court has reposed faith in their statements.”
According to the Forum, the investigation against the accused policemen was compromised at the outset and carried out with a view to shield them, disregarding the procedures mandated by the Criminal Code, while the forensic medical examination was falsified.