HYDERABAD: Members of the judicial commission appointed to probe the alleged encounter at Chatanpally in Shadnagar in December 2019, on Sunday, inspected various places related to the accused as part of the inquiry and also interacted with the veterinarian’s father while concluding the inspection.
For the inspection, Justice VS Sirpurkar, commission chairman, and members Justice Rekha P Sondur Baldota, and Dr. DR Kaarthikeyan were accompanied by S Shashidhar Reddy, secretary to the commission, and V Parameswar and Virupaksha Dattatreya Gowda, counsels to the commission.
Mahesh Bhagwat, Rachakonda Police Commissioner and head of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the Telangana government to probe the alleged encounter, J Surender Reddy — DCP, Special Operations Team, Rachakonda, and Investigating Officer (IO) in the alleged encounter case — and N Prakash Reddy, DCP Shamshabad, also accompanied the commission during their seven-hour-long inspection process, which was held amidst tight security cover.
The commission members first inspected Ravi Guest House, the safe house at Mirjaguda village near Shankarpally, where the accused were interrogated for three days during their police custody and moved to Chatanpally. Then, they went on to inspect the place in the underpass of the National Highway where the victim’s charred body was found. However, they could not go to the exact spot, as it was filled with water.
From there, they went to the alleged encounter site, inquired about the location of the bunds in the fields, the bodies of the accused and other details.
The commission members then moved to Shadnagar police station, where the accused persons were arrested and their medical examination and remand procedures were conducted. Later, they inspected the open plot abutting the toll plaza at Tondupally, where the veterinarian was reportedly raped and killed by the four accused. After completing the inspection, they also spoke with the victim’s father for a few minutes.
Meanwhile, during their visit to Shadnagar police station, several people protested the commission holding inquiry into the alleged encounter and also raised ‘Sirpurkar Committee Go Back’ slogans.
Commission to submit its report in February
The commission appointed by Supreme Court started proceedings in the month of August and concluded it in November. It is likely to submit a report to the Apex Court on February 2, 2022. During the three-month-long proceedings, the commission expressed dissatisfaction about the way the events had unfolded from the time of the arrest of the accused, the alleged encounter and the investigation that followed