New Delhi: A Supreme Court-appointed committee has recommended that 10 police officers be tried for murder in the alleged encounter of four accused of gangrape in Hyderabad in 2019.
The committee noted that the police statement – the accused had snatched the pistol and was trying to escape – was unreliable and not supported by evidence.
The case pertains to the gang rape and murder of a 27-year-old veterinary doctor in November, 2019. Police said the woman was abducted, sexually assaulted and later murdered by the four – Mohd Arif, Chintakunta Chennakeshavulu, Jollu Siva and Jollu Naveen.
Police said that the accused had left the woman’s body on National Highway 44 near Hyderabad and burnt it.
After being arrested in the case, the four accused were shot dead on the same highway.
A three-member panel headed by former apex court judge VS Sirpurkar was constituted on December 12, 2019, to probe the encounter.
The commission’s report on Friday said officials were “responsible for the safety of the dead subjects”. “If by either acts or omission they failed to fulfill their responsibility, their common intention to cause the death of the deceased subjects is established,” it read.
The report said: “In our view, the accused were shot with intentional intention to cause their death and with the knowledge that the shooting would result in the death of the deceased suspect.”
#break Hyderabad Encounter: Supreme Court-appointed committee recommends that 10 police officers for murder of 4 accused of rape and murder be tried for murder.
The committee says that the police say that the accused snatched the pistol and tried to escape unrelentingly, not on the basis of evidence. pic.twitter.com/hkqKTTUrP7
— Bar & Bench (@barandbench) 20 May 2022
On Friday, the Supreme Court also transferred the matter. Telangana High Court for further action.
A bench of Chief Justice NV Ramana and Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli did not agree with the submission of senior advocate Shyam Divan that the report should be kept in a sealed cover.
“It is related to the encounter case. There is nothing to keep here. The commission has found someone guilty. We want to send the matter to the High Court.
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