Hyderabad encounter: SC forms probe panel headed by ex-judge

Satya Prakash
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, December 12

The Supreme Court on Thursday appointed a three-member panel headed by Justice (Retd) VS Sirpurkar to probe the alleged fake encounter of four men accused of raping and murdering a veterinarian in Hyderabad.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde asked the panel, which also included former Bombay HC judge Rekha Prakash Baldota and former CBI chief DR Kartikeyan, to complete the inquiry in six months.

The Bench, however, turned down petitioner ML Sharma's request to direct the state government to pay Rs 15 lakh as compensation to the family of each of the four accused.

On behalf of the Telangana government, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi said there was no doubt about the identity of the four men accused of raping and murdering the veterinarian. 

Rohatagi said that one of the accused was caught riding the victim's ‘scooty’ and another was spotted buying petrol to burn her in CCTV cameras.

The court observed that a suggestion was to restrain the media from publicising the proceedings of the inquiry commission and making comments in relation to the inquiry.

"We don't want to gag the media...except in a case like Ayodhya where mediation was confidential. But there has to be some balance," the CJI said.

The Bench is seized of two PILs—one by advocates GS Mani and Pradeep Kumar Yadav and the other by advocate ML Sharma—seeking registration of an FIR against the policemen involved and an independent investigation against them.

 CJI Bobde had on Saturday disapproved of the encounter and sought to underline the distinction between justice and revenge.

The petitioners have made the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, Chief Secretary and Director General of Police of Telangana, Commissioner of Cyberabad Police as respondents.

They submitted that an independent probe agency must be directed to act in accordance with the 16 guidelines laid down by the top court in PUCL v State of Maharashtra for fake encounter cases.

On November 27, the veterinarian was raped near the Outer Ring Road at Shamshabad on the outskirts of Hyderabad. The accused allegedly later took her to Chatanpally near Shadnagar town and set her on fire.

Police arrested lorry drivers Mohammed Pasha alias Arif (26), Chintakunta Chennakeshavulu and lorry cleaners Jollu Shiva and Jollu Naveen (all aged 20), two days after the incident.

Police claimed the accused attacked the policemen when taken to Chatanpally to recover the victim’s mobile phone and reconstruct the crime scene. Two of the accused allegedly snatched weapons from policemen and opened fire. All four were killed in retaliatory fire by the police.

 "No one including the investigating agency like police has right to punish any accused without due process of law. The court alone after applying all the procedure and law and affording an opportunity all the right of free and fair trial and hearing can impose punishment of imprisonment or death sentence,” read one of the petitions.

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