VIJAYAWADA: High drama in the sensational Ayesha Meera rape and murder case continued on Tuesday with the suspects, named by the SIT, once again expressing their unwillingness to undergo narcoanalysis test. After hearing versions of suspects and public prosecutors, the Fourth Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate adjourned the case to June 15. Assistant public prosecutor (APP) Durga Devi and lawyer Pichuka Srinivas, who were appointed to argue on behalf of the Special Investigation Team (SIT), explained the need for conducting test on the suspects to the judge.
“Since there is no physical
evidence pertaining to the case available with the SIT, the team is dependant on scientific evidence. Hence, narcoanalysis test on the suspects is necessary to bring out the truth,” Srinivas said. To do away with suspects’ apprehensions regarding the test, he said, “The test will be performed under close supervision of doctors. There is no need to worry about their health.”
Four of the seven suspects–Koneru Satish Babu, Abburi Ganesh, Inampudi Padma and her husband Sivaramakrishna–attended the hearing session. When the judge asked them to file affidavits accepting to undergo the test, the suspects refused citing side effects. Stating the memo filed by the SIT requesting narcoanalysis on the suspects as invalid, lawyer of one of the suspects (Chintha Pawan Kumar) Venkata Sharma said the petition is in violation of a Supreme Court order.
In April, the SIT had requested the court to send the seven suspects to Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in Gandhi Nagar (Gujarat) for narcoanalysis test and brain electrical oscillating signature profiling test after recording their consent.