Hyderabad: Onlookers gather near the “encounter” site, where four accused in the rape-and-murder case of a 27-year-old woman veterinarian were shot dead by police. (PTI)
The Telangana High Court on Friday directed the state government to preserve the bodies of four accused in the rape and murder of a 27-year-old veterinarian till 8.00 pm on December 9. The High Court gave the order on a representation received in the office of the Chief Justice, requesting judicial intervention into the incident, alleging it was an extrajudicial killing.
Earlier today, the Telangana Police said its personnel resorted to “retaliatory” firing after two of the accused in the rape and murder of a woman veterinarian opened fire at police after snatching weapons from them this morning. Police also said that snatched weapons were in “unlocked” position.
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Police said the four were taken to Chatanapally— where they had burnt the woman’s body — for crime reconstruction when they allegedly tried to escape by attacking the cops. “All this happened within 5 or 10 minutes after the four accused were brought to the spot,” Cyberabad Police Commissioner V C Sajjanar told. Earlier today, the National Human Rights Commission also ordered an inquiry into the incident.
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Hyderabad vet rape-murder case: The 27-year-old veterinarian, went missing from Shamshabad toll plaza, near Hyderabad, on November 27.
Highlights
A case was registered against four accused, arrested for the alleged rape and murder of a woman veterinarian near here last month and killed in an encounter, for ‘attacking’ the police personnel. Case under IPC sections 307 (attempt to murder), 176 (omission to give notice or information to public servant by person legally bound to give it) and relevant sections of the Indian Arms Act were registered against the accused. Based on a complaint filed by the in-charge of police team that accompanied the four accused, the FIR was booked on Friday, a senior police official told PTI. Read more...
The Telangana High Court on Friday directed the state government to preserve the bodies of four accused in the rape and murder of a young veterinarian till 8:00 PM on December 9, news agency PTI reported. The High Court gave the order on a representation received in the office of the Chief Justice, requesting judicial intervention into the incident, alleging it was an extrajudicial killing.
The High Court also directed that the video of the post-mortem in Compact Disc form or pen-drive be handed over to the Principal District Judge, Mahabubnagar, after completion of the post-mortem of all the accused, the news agency reported.
“Take me to the spot where my husband was killed and shoot me down too. We were married only for a year and now I do not want to live without him,” cried the pregnant wife of one of the accused who was killed in the Hyderabad ‘encounter’ in Chatanpally area early Friday morning. Unable to digest what has happened to her life, she said it was absolutely “not fair.” Click here to read more.
Several retired and serving police officers cautioned against doubting the police in the 'encounter' of four accused in the rape and murder of a 27-year-old veterinarian in Hyderabad, but demanded an independent probe into the incident. Former Tihar Jail DG Vimla Mehra demanded that an inquiry be conducted to ascertain the reasons that led to the encounter.
Alok Kumar, former joint commissioner of Delhi Police (Crime Branch), said whenever judicial scrutiny happens, things will be cleared. (PTI)
Divulging details of the ‘encounter’ of all four accused in the rape and murder of a 27-year-old woman Hyderabad veterinary doctor, Cyberabad Police Commissioner V C Sajjanar on Friday said his men resorted to ‘retaliatory’ firing after two of the accused opened fire at the police after snatching two pistols from them. Click here to read more.
Delhi Commission For Women (DCW) Chief Swati Maliwal Friday said the Hyderabad "encounter" will send out a strong message and people will feel justice was done. "What about thousands of Nirbhayas who are still waiting for justice. At the end of the day, there will be a strong message (after the encounter), and people will feel justice was done. But l want this country to run through a system," Maliwal was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
Speaking to indianexpress.com over phone, Justice Pasha, who retired in May 2018, said, "I cannot call it an encounter. I feel these are cold-blooded murders. Even though it is the will of the people, the police ought not to have done it." Click here to read more.
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Backing police action in Hyderabad "encounter", Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said that the police acted in self-defence. "They (accused) tried to attack and escape when they were taken to spot (of crime), so the encounter was inevitable to save their (police) lives," he was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
Former Union home minister P Chidambaram said on Friday that a "thorough inquiry" should be made into the killing of the four people, accused in the Hyderabad rape-murder case.
"I don't know the facts about what happened, but I can say this much, whatever happened, an inquiry should be made into it," Chidambaram told reporters when asked for a reaction on the incident during a press conference in Ranchi.
"There must be a thorough inquiry to know if it (is a) genuine encounter or whether it is anything else. As a responsible person, I will ask for a thorough inquiry," he added. (PTI)
Cyberabad Police Commissioner V C Sajjanar said that the four accused were not handcuffed at that time as they were asked to search for the belongings of the veterinary doctor which they claimed they had hidden there. He also said that all the weapons carried by cops were unlocked as the accused were considered dangerous.
"The accused tried to mislead the police and wandered around. Suddenly, one of the accused started pelting stones at the officers. The other accused also joined him and then the remaining two also picked up sticks and stones and threw them at the police escort. Two of our policemen were injured," Cyberabad Police Commissioner CV Sajjanar told during a media briefing.
"They also snatched two pistols in the melee and fired at the policemen. We gave them a chance to surrender but they fired and police retaliated. After the firing stopped we found that all four accused were dead," he added.
"We suspect that the accused were also involved in many other cases in Karnataka, investigation is on," Cyberabad Police Commissioner V C Sajjanar told media today.
On being asked about how the accused managed to fire as guns have a safety lock, Commissioner V C Sajjanar said that the snatched weapons were in "unlocked" position, news agency PTI reported.
Cyberabad CP, VC Sajjanar on today's encounter: I can only say that law has done its duty.
Addressing the media on today's "encounter," Cyberabad Police Commissioner V C Sajjanar said, "After the accused confessed, they were brought to the location to recover material evidence. That is when they snatched police weapons and tried to fire."He said that after being attacked, the police retaliated. Two police personnel were also injured during the operation. However, he said that the injured cops received head injuries and not bullet injuries.
Adibatla village, one of the booming IT/ITES special economic zones adjacent to the 158-km long outer ring road of Hyderabad, lacks basic facilities like street lighting. This makes women think twice before stepping out. Click here to read more.
The National Human Rights Commission has taken suo moto cognizance of the killings in Hyderabad. The NHRC has ordered a probe in the incident and will send a fact-finding team to the site.
TRS Parliamentary Party leader and Rajya Sabha member K Keshava Rao expressed surprise over the alleged encounter in Hyderabad. "Whatever government has to do (with regard to the encounter) it will do. (Those) four persons were killed and the people are happy. The question is if the punishment comes through the court it would have been better," Keshava Rao told reporters in New Delhi.
"We have appointed fast-track court for the trial of the case. We thought that the judgement (from the special court) would have come in a month's time," he added. He said, "We never thought that they would try to escape and this (encounter) would happen". Asked whether they were intentionally encountered, he said: "that is your view". Whether the government would order an inquiry into the encounter, he said: "they must be doing it." (PTI)
Former Delhi Police commissioner Neeraj Kumar, who handled the Nirbhaya gangrape-and-murder case, on Friday said the thought of killing the accused never crossed his mind. "There was a lot of pressure at that time, but the thought of killing them never came. We were getting messages, asking us to throw the accused in front of hungry lions. But we followed the law," he told PTI over phone.
While several voices, including senior officials and public figures, have hailed the killing by police of all four accused in the Hyderabad rape-murder case early on Friday, questions have also been raised over the legality and propriety of the police action. Extra-judicial or “encounter” killings have been a contested and divisive police procedure for decades. This is what the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the Supreme Court have said on the proper procedures to be followed during such action by police.
Hyderabad Shuttler Saina Nehwal praised Hyderabad police for killing all four accused in the rape and murder of a veterinarian in Telangana. "Great work Hyderabad Police ..we salute u," Nehwal tweeted.
Congress leader Sharmistha Mukherjee raised questions over the killing of all the four accused in the Hyderabad rape-and-murder case. "If the police version is right that they (accused) wanted to flee, then you cannot allow those who have committed such heinous crimes to get away," said Mukherjee, daughter of former President Pranab Mukherjee. "But, on the other hand, there was a lot of public outrage and public pressure on the government. If the government has taken any step under public pressure that could be an extrajudicial killing, then that is a very dangerous situation for the country because it will set a precedent," she said.
There should be an "unbiased inquiry" so that people are convinced that this is not a state encounter, Mukherjee said.
Kanumuru Raghu Rama Krishna Raju, YSR Congress Party said, "They deserved to be shot dead. God has been kind that they were shot dead, this is a good lesson. They tried to run away and they were killed. No NGO should oppose it and if they do so, they are anti-national."
Cyberabad Police Commissioner V C Sajjanar is back in the limelight with Hyderabad 'encounter'. A 1996 batch IPS officer, Sajjanar was Superintendent of Police of Warangal in 2008 when police shot dead three youths who threw acid on two engineering college girls who succumbed later. Sajjanar was lauded as aa hero and no inquiry was ordered to investigate the circumstances of the encounter.
Before being posted as Cyberabad police commissioner, Sajjanar was IG of Special Intelligence Branch, the anti- Naxalite unit. During his stint there Sajjanar was credited for arrest or surrender of several top Maoists and encounter of senior Maoist leaders. In August 2016, Greyhounds, the elite anti-naxal operations unit headed by Sajjanar shot dead Maoist turned gangster Mohammed Nayeemuddin on the outskirts of Hyderabad when he allegedly tried to attack police and flee when they went to arrest him.
BJP leader Meenakshi Lekhi in Parliament welcomed the killing of accused in Hyderabad. "Jaisi karni, waisi bharni. If the accused are trying to flee away and attack the cops, the police have no option. Unhe bandooke sajane ke liye nahin dee gayi hai. Further investigations will be carried out,"
Yoga guru Baba Ramdev called the Hyderabad Police's action "courageous." " What police has done is very courageous and I must say that justice has been delivered. Legal questions over it are a different matter, but I am sure people of the country are at peace now," he told news agency ANI
According to Kavita Krishnan, secretary of the All India Progressive Women's Association, this is not justice but a "ploy" to shut down demands for accountability from the police, judiciary, governments, and justice and dignity for women. "Instead of being accountable to his job and answering our questions about his government's failures to safeguard women's rights, the Telangana CM and his police have acted as leaders of a lynch mob," she said.
She described the incident as the admittance of utter incompetence and failure of criminality on the part of the entire political and police system and accused Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao of deflecting the "whole issue". "We are asking tough questions to the police and to the government. In order to avoid answering these questions it is an attempt to say justice has been done," she said.
"Jo bhi hua hai bohot bhayanak hua hai is desh ke liye, you cannot kill people because you want to. You cannot take law in your hands, they(accused) would have been hanged by the court anyhow," BJP leader Maneka Gandhi said.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said, "The rape cases that have come to light of late, people are in anger whether it is Unnao or Hyderabad, so people are expressing happiness over the encounter. It is also something to be worried about, the way people have lost their faith in the criminal justice system. Together all the governments will have to take action on how to strengthen the criminal justice system."
"When a criminal tries to escape, police are left with no other option, it can be said that justice has been done," Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel said
While you were sleeping, the Telangana Police killed all the four accused in the Hyderabad rape-murder case in what it claimed to be an encounter in the wee hours of Friday. Here is what has happened since the Hyderabad veterinarian's rape on November 27. Read more
RLD leader Rabri Devi said the police action today will act as a deterrent to other criminals. "What happened in Hyderabad will act as a deterrent against criminals surely, we welcome this. In Bihar as well, cases of crimes against women are increasing. The state Govt here is lax and doing nothing," she said, news agency ANI reported
* Post midnight on Friday morning, the Telangana Police took the four accused to Chatanpally, around 30 kilometre from Hyderabad, where the veterinarian’s body was set ablaze and dumped on November 27. The police said the recce would help them reconstruct the sequence of events that took place on the night of the crime
* The police wanted to take the accused to the spot where they purchased petrol to burn the victim’s body, and to the place where her two-wheeler was disposed of. The police said the accused were taken on the recce in the middle of the night “to avoid confrontation with the public”
* The police said that on reaching Chatanpally, the four accused gestured to each other to attack the cops and flee. After attacking the police, the four ran towards a deserted pathway, said the police
* The police said they opened fire at the accused in self-defence. Read more
Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan who had suggested public lynching for the Hyderabad rape-murder accused welcomed the killing of four men today. "Der aaye, durust aaye...der aaye, bohot der aaye..(Better late than never)."
Congress leader and Lok Sabha member Shashi Tharoor said extrajudicial killings were not acceptable. "Agree in principle. We need to know more, for instance, if the criminals were armed, the police may have been justified in opening fire preemptively. Until details emerge we should not rush to condemn. But extra-judicial killings are otherwise unacceptable in a society of laws," he tweeted.
The Telangana BJP Friday issued a statement on the alleged police encounter asking the government and police to address the media with the sequence of events at the earliest. "BJP feels Hyderabad encounter incident is still premature to react. These are just initial media reports and the Telangana DGP should make an official statement outlining the entire incident timeline. As a responsible national party BJP will react only after official police statement," K Krishna Saagar Rao, chief spokesperson, BJP Telangana State said. "The gangrape and murder of the woman is a horrendous crime, BJP has condemned it, and as a responsible opposition party has also pressured the Telangana government to act and bring the accused to justice. However, India is not a banana republic and is bound by legal and constitutional framework. Politics over crime, cannot set a right precedence," he said
Locals in Hyderabad congratulated police and hailed slogans 'Jai KCR, police zindabad.' They also showered petals at the Police personnel at the spot where the accused were shot deadHyderabad: Locals had showered rose petals on Police personnel at the spot where accused in the rape and murder of the woman veterinarian were killed in an encounter earlier today (Express Photo: Rahul V Pisharody)
Reacting on the killing, BSP chief Mayawati said the Uttar Pradesh Police should take inspiration from their counterparts in Telangana. "Crimes against women are on the rise in Uttar Pradesh, but the state government is sleeping. Police here and also in Delhi should take inspiration from Hyderabad Police, but unfortunately, here criminals are treated as state guests, there is jungle raj in UP right now."
Asha Devi, mother of the December 16 2012, gangrape victim, also backed the cops saying that the "police has done a great job". "I am extremely happy with this punishment. Police has done a great job and I demand that no action should be taken against the police personnel," she told news agency ANI. "I have been running from pillar to post for the last for years. I appeal to the justice system of this country and the government, that my daughter's culprits must be hanged to death, at the earliest," she further said.