Relatives of 4 deceased suspects welcome report, hope for justice
Srinivasa Rao Apparasu
HYDERABAD: Family members of four suspects in the gang rape and murder of a veterinarian in 2019, who were killed in a police encounter, on Friday welcomed the inquiry commission’s report but said they had expected the Supreme Court to deliver its judgment on the matter. Chintakunta Jayamma of Gudigandla village in Telangana’s Narayanpet district, whose 20-year-old son Chennakeshavulu was among those killed, said she was disappointed as she expected the top court to announce punishment for the accused police officials and not refer the matter to the high court for necessary orders.
“My son was innocent and he was killed in a fake encounter. For the last two-and-a-half years, the case has been going on in the Supreme Court. We thought we would get justice. But the
Supreme Court referred it back to the high court,” she said. Jayamma wondered what the high court would do now. “We still have hope in the judiciary. We request the courts to do justice to us and that the government would extend assistance to us,” she said.
Jollu Rajappa, father of another encounter victim Jollu Shiva, from the same Gudigandla village, said the inquiry commission’s report clearly matched with his views that the encounter was fake and that police had brutally killed the suspects.
“We hoped that the case would be disposed of by the Supreme Court, but it has referred it back to the high court. We are confident of getting justice even if it is delayed. We want the court to award death sentences to the police who killed my son” he said.
Similarly, the family of another deceased – Mohd Arif – said it had expected the top court to deliver its judgment on Friday. “We were told the Supreme Court would deliver its judgment today, but it has left it to the high court. Yet, we have not lost hope. The police who killed my son should also meet the same fate,” Arif’s father Mohd Hussain, a resident of Jaklair village, said.
Senior lawyer P V Krishnamachary, who argued before the Sirpurkar Commission, said the panel had extensively reviewed the case before concluding that the police encounter was fake.
“It is now for the courts to provide justice to the encounter victims,” he said.
KIN OF DECEASED SAID THE REPORT PROVED THEIR STANCE THAT THE ENCOUNTER WAS FAKE