HYDERABAD: Submitting arguments on the last day of the proceedings, State Counsel E Umamaheshwar Rao argued that there was never any question about the age of the accused persons, as their age was established by their Aadhar cards, which their families also identified.
Now, the families are claiming that the accused persons were minors, they never said a word about age at the time of the arrest, remand, judicial custody and even after their death. “It was first raised when their statements were recorded by the NHRC. Even the State had come to know about this issue, through the proceedings of the Commission and the affidavits filed by their families before the Commission,” Rao stated.
When Justice Rekha P Sondurbaldota stated that headmasters of the schools where the four accused had studied, also submitted their date of birth records and that police had gone to the schools to collect the date of birth details. Rao contended, “We do not know who went and why they went. At least we are not aware. Because a headmaster says someone had come to the school, it does not mean its true. Is there a need for the police to travel 100 km to collect their school details?”He also added, “Some other forces are behind this. There is a theory to push that the accused are minors.”
Clinching evidence
There is clinching circumstantial and scientific evidence against the accused. All people involved have been examined thoroughly by the Commission, stated Rao