HYDERABAD/ VIJAYAWADA: A Division Bench of the Hyderabad High Court on Friday ordered the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the Andhra Pradesh government to reinvestigate the murder of B Pharm student Ayesha Meera at her hostel in Ibrahimpatnam near Vijayawada in 2007.
On August 4, 2017, the state government had issued a GO constituting the SIT, headed by Visakhapatnam Range DIG Ch Srikanth and DSPs D Himavathi, Sreelakshmi and Inspector Saherunnissa Begum of Nunna Police Station as its members.
The bench made it clear that it would monitor the SIT probe and that the team would complete the investigation expeditiously to submit its first case progress report before the court by April 20. If the SIT experiences influence from any quarters then the same should immediately be reported to the court, the High Court said.Further, the bench directed the AP government not to transfer any of the SIT members/officers without prior permission. The state government has been ordered to forthwith initiate disciplinary action against the investigation officers who botched up the probe.
The Bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Ramesh Ranganathan and Justice J Uma Devi passed the orders while hearing petitions filed separately by Syed Iqbal Basha and Shamshad Begum, parents of Ayesha, and Prof Rama S Melkote and two others.On March 31, 2017, the High Court acquitted Pidthala Satyam Babu of charges of murdering Ayesha at her hostel on December 26, 2007.
The murder triggered public outrage prompting the police to initiate quick action and apprehend Satyam Babu. The arrest triggered anger among the public, including the family members of Ayesha, who suspected the role of bigwigs in the murder. While setting aside the lower court order dated Sept 29, 2009, convicting Babu, the court reprimanded the then investigating officers and directed the AP government to initiate disciplinary proceedings against them. It also directed the government to pay `1 lakh as costs to Babu who served eight years in prison.