2 years on, Disha case still awaits hearing
The family members of Disha, the veterinarian who was brutally raped and murdered in 2019, are still waiting for justice as the commission is yet to announce a conviction in the case, says the lawyer representing the case. “We are given Covid as an excuse to delay the investigation, whereas the George Floyd case in the US, reported during the pandemic, saw a speedy trial and conviction,” he said, adding that justice delayed is justice denied. Meanwhile, the SIT (special investigation team) formed to probe the case has not finished the inquiry yet.
“The conviction and court hearing are getting extended for months and we were told by the Central team from Delhi that the third wave will only prolong it further,” said P.V. Krishnamachari, the lawyer representing the case. “The SIT has not finished the investigation and such delay can weaken the evidence. Such cases should be dealt with in a timely manner. Even the families will not have the satisfaction of justice being served. A commission from Delhi was appointed to conclude the investigation. They should come down and check evidence, enquiry process and SIT report. Such ‘encounters’ cannot be tolerated as the police do not have a right to take action. We are hoping that justice is done in due time,” he said.
Earlier, the inquiry commission secretary in the case S Sasidhar Reddy said despite the constraints imposed by the unexpected circumstances, the commission was committed and had been looking for different ways to complete the probe expeditiously. A statement said that as per the directions of the Supreme Court dated December 12, 2019, the Telangana government had constituted a commission on January 10, 2020 to inquire into the events that resulted in the deaths of four persons arrested in connection with the rape and murder of Disha.
Shashidhar Reddy informed that the commission since its notification for public hearing issued on February 5, 2020, had received 1,167 applications from public, 1,365 affidavits including family members of victims and policemen involved in the incident, reports of the FIR, NHRC, SIT, post mortem including re-post mortem, meteorological reports of the relevant date etc. However, the reports of the second post mortem examination conducted as per the directions of the High Court was received on June 10,
2020, due to lockdown and the subsequent impact on the court’s functioning. The commission also acquired several thousands of pages after getting it translated into Telugu and completed the scrutiny of the same.
The second sitting of the commission was scheduled to be held on March 23 and
24, 2020, at the office of commission in Hyderabad due to Covid outbreak. Though the lockdown restrictions were relaxed in June, 2020, the situation in Hyderabad had further deteriorated with several persons working on the premises allocated to the commission were found to be Covid positive.
The Commission also explored the possibility and viability of conducting online hearings and sittings to complete the inquiry. However, after considering several aspects including their mental condition and the security aspects, those disposing before the commission and the security of advocates etc., it was decided that virtual hearing was not feasible. Disha, a 26year-old veterinary doctor, was tricked by four men near a toll plaza who claimed her scooter had a flat and offered help. She was then raped and throttled near their parked truck, a stone’s throw away from the toll gate, her body was taken to Shadnagar and burnt at an underpass on Hyderabad-Bangalore highway. Disha’s burning body was found the next day. Four suspects Mohammed Areef, Ch Chennakeshavulu, J Shiva and J Naveen – were picked up a day later. The Cyberabad cops came under heavy flak for delaying registering of FIR.