In cold blood

It didn8217;t take long for Srinivas to hatch a plot along with two friends, biochemistry students B Sanjay and P Hari Krishna, who accompanied him on the day of the attack. In fact, it was these helpful friends who allegedly advised Srinivas on which acid to use and even procured it from a shop by using their Masterji Degree College identity cards.

Before setting off on their mission, they even did some target practice by throwing water balloons at a doll, said SP Sajjanar. 8220;They said they hit the target 17 times. Then they were ready to execute their plan. They knew exactly what they were doing and were well aware of the extensive damage that the acid could cause,8221; added Sajjanar.

The police claim that Sanjay was driving the motorcycle while Srinivas and Hari Krishna rode pillion and threw the acid. 8220;There are burn marks on Hari Krishna8217;s left hand to prove it,8221; said Sajjanar.

After executing their plan, the boys returned to their homes but when local news channels revealed their identities, they slipped away and took refuge in Srinivas8217;s ancestral home in a neighbouring village.

But they did not get away. The incident caused a furore across Andhra Pradesh, with everyone from local students and politicians to women8217;s organisations blaming the police for its inaction. On December 12, the police hastily arrested the three men from different locations, even parading them before the local media. An unrepentant Srinivas told reporters that he committed the crime to take revenge on Swapnika for spurning him even though he helped her father financially.

From that point on, the story becomes murkier. According to Sajjanar, the boys were taken to Mamunur near Warangal to assist the police in finding their acid stocks and to recover the attack motorcycle.

8220;They had a hideout there and as soon as they reached, Srinivas took out a country-made revolver while the other two took out knives and tried to throw an acid bulb at the cops. To defend themselves, the policemen opened fire at the boys.8221; All three died.

Warangal hailed the police personnel involved as heroes, bursting firecrackers and distributing sweets to express their jubilation. Thousands of students took out a victory march, converging at the SP8217;s bungalow to congratulate him and present him with bouquets. Many clamoured to take his autograph. But voices of doubt about the 8216;encounter8217; were soon heard.

A charcoal sketch of a woman cradling a baby with 8216;Mother8217;s Love8217; etched beneath hangs on a stark wall. Below it on a chair is a garlanded laminated photo of B Sanjay, 19, who died in the encounter. His mother, a retired school teacher, sobs in the only other room in the house. His father, B Sambamurthy collapses into a chair.

8220;I have not been able to make any sense of this: the police accusing him of throwing acid, the public baying for his blood, his arrest from some unknown place, and local channels flashing news that my son his friends were shot by the police. Everyone seems so happy that they have been killed and I cannot even cry over my son8217;s death,8221; says Sambamurthy, 65, a retired school teacher.

8220;He was with me for most of the day on December 10. We had dinner together and since it was chilly he did not want me go to our paddy field, where either one of us sleeps every night, and insisted on going. When he did not return in the morning, I kept calling on his mobile but it was switched off. Then I saw images of his lifeless body on TV,8221; says Sambamurthy.

Shocked and numb, he did not even go to claim his son8217;s body. 8220;The mood among people here was such that anyone who had anything to do with these boys or spoke on behalf of them was supporting the crime they allegedly committed. My son-in-law performed the last rites.8221;

He never believed his son could be involved in the attack. 8220;It is such a heinous crime. He has always been a good child, obedient and affectionate. I have never had complaints about him from anyone. If he was involved, why would he come back home that day? He would have run away. The next day at around 5 am, a labourer who works in our field saw him going towards the toilet. No one knows what happened after that. The police have still not told us where he was arrested. My motorcycle, which he took, has not been found yet.8221; Sambamurthy adds, 8220;The police say the three boys attacked them with knives. Our police could not defend themselves from knives? Why kill them? If they committed a crime, there are laws and there are courts to punish them. Or has the police lost hope in its own processes and the judiciary?8221;

8220;A complaint was filed against Srinivas by the girl8217;s father. Why did the police not take strict action then? When the attack happened, people and media put such pressure on the police that they took them out and killed them. Now everyone is happy,8221; he says. Sambamurthy has prevented his younger son from going to school fearing he might be harmed.

Three kilometres from Sanjay8217;s house, is P Hari Krishna8217;s modest home. His mother wails while his auto driver father P Sambiah stares into space. 8220;If we had known that Srinivas was such a character, we would have warned our son,8221; Sambiah says. 8220;He was my only son. We were hoping that he would complete his BSc and get a job and look after us, 8221; he says. 8220;I borrowed a lot of money to educate him in an English-medium school because I did not want him to become an auto driver like me.8221;

Sambiah says that policemen arrived at his house on the evening of December 12 with S Srinivas. 8220;I did not recognise Srinivas because I had never seen him before. The cops told me to call my son to a nearby hospital by saying that his mother was ill. He came and the police pounced on him. They asked him about the marks on his hand and he told them he was burnt while trying to stop Srinivas from throwing acid. They took him away. Next afternoon we went to claim his body,8221; he says.

An angry Sambiah points out that if his son was guilty the police could have prepared a strong case against him. 8220;If he committed the crime, we would not have complained if the court sentenced him to 10 or 20 years in prison. But killing him is no justice,8221; he says.

Meanwhile, S Srinivas8217;s house bears a deserted look. No one knows where his family has disappeared after he was killed. Neither his father S Singa Rao, a builder, nor his relatives went to claim Srinivas8217;s body and his last rites were performed by the sarpanch of his native village near Warangal.

A week after the encounter, others have begun echoing the sentiments expressed by the parents of Sanjay and Hari Krishna. 8220;For two days an emotional wave swept through Warangal. All sane voices were drowned out. It was a big mistake on behalf of the Bar Association to ask advocates to voluntarily decline from representing the boys. Now many advocates repent the decision which may have contributed to the deaths of the boys,8221; says Gudimalla Ravi Kumar, an advocate and general secretary of Warangal district Bar Association.

Several female students of the Law Department of Kakatiya University also disapprove of the way the encounter played out. 8220;Terrorists, rapists and murders are arrested every other day. Are all of them killed in such encounters? Why is Mumbai terrorist Kasab still alive? When IPS officers take the law into their own hands, what prevents ordinary citizens from doing so?8221; asks Bhagyashree Naidu, a first-year student.

Revathy another law student, says, 8220;The role of the two biochemistry boys is not yet clear. There was no police investigation to prove their involvement. So why kill them too and in such a hurry?8221;

The law students are at the forefront of people who plan to present a memorandum to the district collector, demanding a probe into the alleged extra-judicial killings.

Human rights activist and eminent lawyer K G Kannabiran feels that this encounter sets a precedent for the police to kill people taken into custody at will. 8220;It is in such situations, when the police face public anger and political pressure builds up, that they should uphold the law and act properly. What is the use of the police if they behave like death squads?8221; he asks.

B Ramulu of the State Human Rights Forum who teaches at the Economics Department of Kakatiya University says that it was a 8220;political encounter8221; that claimed the lives of the three boys. 8220;Both the Praja Rajyam party and TDP tried to pin down the government over the acid attack on the girls. To counter their allegations that law and order was failing, the Congress and government put pressure on the police to show some quick results. The acid attack was a terrible act and very tragic but what followed was equally shocking. If the police had done their job properly when the girl8217;s father lodged a complaint, this would not have happened.8221;

Meanwhile, Director General of Police, S S P Yadav says that an inquiry has been ordered to probe the police encounter. 8220;We have to wait till the inquiry is over to know what happened.8221;