HYDERABAD: The accused in the rape and murder of a veterinarian at Shadnagar, had hurled soil in the eyes of the police party at the place of the ‘encounter’, panch witness in the case Rajashekar, Assistant Executive Engineer of R&B department, said. He had not mentioned the same in his statements before the police, Judicial Magistrate or even the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) which had inquired into the ‘encounter’.
The counsel for the commission appointed by the Supreme Court to probe the ‘encounter’, questioned him as to why he had not stated the same in his statements recorded immediately after the incident. When asked why he did so in the affidavit filed 11 months after the incident, he said while filing the affidavit, his advocate asked him to remember everything. “So I recollected everything and made my statement in the affidavit,” he said during his cross examination on Friday.
He further stated that one of the accused took soil in his hands and hurled it into the eyes of the police party, after which the other three accused also threw soil at the police. Asked whether he had mentioned this in his statement to the NHRC, he said it was true that he had not. When asked why it was not mentioned in his previous statements that ACP Shadnagar gave directions to open fire in the air and commence counter-firing at the place of the ‘encounter’, he stated, “I made these statements before the police, but I don’t know why it is not mentioned in my statement. I forgot to mention this before the magistrate. I made this statement to the NHRC, but it was not recorded.”