Hyderabad Encounter Which Killed 4 Rape Accused Was Fake: What Judicial Inquiry Commission Said
A Supreme Court-appointed commission that investigated the police encounter in Hyderabad in which four gang-rape and murder accused, including three minors, were killed has found that they were "deliberately fired upon by the police with an intent to cause their death".
The commission has also recommended that all 10 police officers should be tried for murder.
Deliberately fired upon with an intent to cause their death
"In our considered opinion, the accused were deliberately fired upon with an intent to cause their death and with the knowledge that the firing would invariably result in the death of the deceased suspect," the commission's report said.
According to the report, three of the four were minors. "We are of the opinion that at the relevant time, Jollu Shiva, Jollu Naveen and Chintakunta Chennakeshavulu were minors," added the report.
The commission cited lapses in the investigation of the case and said all 10 policemen should be tried for murder. "The different acts committed by each of them were done in furtherance of common intention to kill the deceased suspects," added the report.
2019 Hyderabad gang rape case
Mohammed Arif, Chintakunta Chennakeshavulu, Jolu Shiva, and Jollu Naveen were arrested in connection with the gang rape and murder of a 27-year-old female veterinary doctor in November 2019.?
The victim,?a 27-year-old veterinary doctor from returning from Gachibowli?after meeting a dermatologist. She had parked her two-wheeler near the Tondapalli Toll Plaza. The four accused who were drinking nearby spotted her getting down at the toll plaza and taking a cab punctured one of the tyres of her scooter.
One of the accused then approached her in the pretext of helping her and took her two-wheeler away.
The accused then abducted and gang raped her. The victim was murdered and her partly burnt body was dumped on the roadside by the accused.
Hyderabad police: from villain to hero?
The Hyderabad Police had come under fire after it emerged that they had not acted for hours after the family filed a missing complaint.
Police managed to arrest the four accused the very next day and on December 6 all of them were taken to the crime scene to recreate the chain of events.
According to the police version, the accused tried to attack the cops and flee, after which they had to open fire in self-defence, killing them on the spot.
The encounter killing was hailed as 'instant justice' by a large section of the society and the police who were under fire for their inaction became heroes.
It is a matter of credibility, says SC
However, soon glaring inaccuracies emerged in the police version of events.
Many also pointed out that DCP VC Sajjanar was involved in a similar encounter in 2008 when an acid attack accused was shot dead by the police in Warangal.
On December 19, 2019, the Supreme Court had ordered a probe into the encounter saying it was a matter of credibility.?
The commission was headed by former SC judge VS Sirpurkar and other members include former Bombay High Court judge Rekha Sondur Baldota and former CBI director DR Karthikeyan.
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