2019 Hyderabad ‘encounter’: ‘Truth is out’ for family of accused, victim’s kin say they back police

But for the family of the veterinarian, the report has come as a bitter leftover. “We are not yet fully aware of all the recommendations of the Commission but we support the police officials,’’ said a close relative.

All the others who hailed the “encounter” three years ago — from Ministers to youth organisations in Telangana — reacted on Friday with silence. Telangana Home Minister M Mahmood Ali, who had backed the police in 2019 and even questioned the victim’s failure to dial 100, said: “I do not want to comment on the issue, let the courts handle it.”

The four accused were cousins Jollu Shiva and Jollu Naveen, C Chennakeshavulu and Mohammed Arif. “It is difficult to accept that my son committed such a heinous crime. What if he had not?” Jollu Rajaiah, the father of Shiva, said.

“If my son committed the crime, he should have been brought to justice legally. He was a minor. This Commission’s recommendation to punish the officials at least proves that the boys did not attack the police and they were shot dead without any chance of going to court. The truth is out. I hope the courts also recommend that the four families receive some compensation because we have lost our breadwinners,’’ said Rajaiah, a daily wage labourer.

V Narasimhalu, headmaster of Mandal Parishad Primary School at Gudigandla village in Telangana’s Narayanpet district who submitted the school register with dates of birth to show that Shiva and Chennakeshavulu were minors, thanked the Commission for setting the record straight.

“Whether they were involved in the crime or not, they were minors at the time. That is what I wanted to convince the Commission. The families of the youths should get justice,’’ he said.

C Jayamma, mother of Chennakeshavulu, said the police officials will now be held accountable for their actions. “But my son will not come back. We need help from the government, some financial assistance… that would help us a lot,’’ she said.

In March last year, Jayamma lost her husband, C Kurumappa, to injuries sustained in a road accident. In the same month, she said, Chennakeshavulu’s minor wife gave birth to a girl. “After the four were arrested, we were not allowed to meet them even for a minute,” Jayamma, who is also a daily wage labourer, said.

According to the families, Shiva was working as a helper in the truck that was allegedly used in the crime. Chennakeshavulu and Naveen were jobless at the time. “Without my son, I don’t have much income now,” said Rajaiah. “All of us are appealing to the Commission to provide us with financial help.”

On the morning of December 6, 2019, hours after the alleged encounter took place, the family of the victim had hailed the police, with her father saying that they got “relief” and “closure” with the death of the accused.

As news spread of the alleged encounter, a crowd gathered on the flyover overlooking the site on the Hyderabad-Bengaluru highway, and showered rose petals and flowers on the police officials below.

Members of the youth organisation of the ruling TRS, and others such as NSUI and ABVP from the Shadnagar area who had organised the flowers, declined to speak on record on Friday.

“Justice was delivered and done in the encounter. No one protested then and no one is protesting even now, except the families of the four accused,’’ said the youth leader of a leading political party.

“The police have already given CCTV proof of how the four youths approached the victim after deflating the tyres of her vehicle, took her two-wheeler after promising to fix the tyres, and after committing the crime, purchased petrol to set her body on fire. Everything is on CCTV,” the leader said.

“That proof was enough to convict them in court but the police were under intense pressure to ensure instant justice because people were angered by the brazen crime. We are disappointed that the Commission recommended murder charges against the police. All of us believe that those police officials did what the public wanted them to do,’’ he said.