The Telangana High Court (HC) is scheduled to review a petition demanding the release of the bodies of the 4 accused in the Disha rape and murder case.
On the 28th of November, the 4 accused, identified as Mohammad Pasha, Jollu Srinivas, Jollu Naveen and Chintalakunta Chennakeshavulu, were alleged of raping Disha and murdering her by setting her on fire alive.
After a few days of the incident, during the investigation, Cyberabad Police Commissioner V.C. Sajjanar, along with his team, killed the four accused in an encounter. The Cyberabad Police team justified the extrajudicial killings as a necessary step as the accused were trying to escape.
The encounter took place in the early hours of the 6th of December. Since the 6th of December, based on the orders of the Supreme Court (SC,) the State run Gandhi Hospital has kept the bodies preserved.
However, on the 18th of December, Raghavendra Prasad, an official of the Association of People’s Lawyers (APL,) filed a petition seeking approval to hand over the bodies to the families of the accused after a re examination. Mr. Prasad filed the petition after concerns were raised about the decomposition of the bodies, currently preserved at the Gandhi Hospital Mortuary in Hyderabad.
Initially, on the 19th of December, the Telangana HC refused to review the petition, citing the Supreme Court (SC) orders directing the Telangana Police to preserve the bodies until further notice. However, M. Venkanna, the counsel of Mr. Prasad, informed the HC about the orders of the SC. According to the fresh orders, the SC asked the Telangana HC to look into the matter and take a decision regarding the bodies of the accused after collecting evidence from them.
The Telangana HC, after reviewing the petition, would decide if the bodies need to be preserved or handed over to the families of the accused.
Meanwhile, on the 19th of December, one of the families of the accused moved the SC and demanded strict action against the police personnel involved in the extrajudicial killings. The family, in the petition, also demanded a compensation of Rs. 50 lakhs for each family.
Stay tuned for further updates.
