SC grants 6 more months for probe panel on Hyderabad encounter killings

The Supreme Court on Tuesday gave another six months to the three-member inquiry commission, headed by former apex court judge VS Sirpurkar, to file final report on the encounter killing of the four accused in the case of gang-rape and murder of a veterinarian in Hyderabad. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana asked the lawyer appearing for the inquiry panel as to how much more time it needed to conclude the probe.

The bench, also comprising Justice Surya Kant, referred to the instance of a similar panel set up to inquire into the encounter killing of a gangster Vikas Dubey in Uttar Pradesh, and said that they had already filed the report. Ok. Six months, the bench added.

A judicial panel which was headed by retired Justice VS Sirpurkar was constituted on December 12, 2019 to inquire into the circumstances leading to the encounter of the four rape accused and was to submit a report in six months. This is the fourth such extension granted to the panel.The three-member panel had earlier been given three six-month-long extensions. The last time an extension was granted was in January this year. Now with the deadline of the third extension, coming to an end, the SC has granted another six months’ time for the probe.

On November 27, 2019 , Disha (name changed), a 27-year-old veterinarian doctor from Hyderabad was gangraped and killed allegedly by the four-member gang, who are natives of Narayanpet district, at Thondupally toll gate on Outer Ring Road, Shamshabad which falls under the jurisdiction of Cyberabad.

Days later, on December 6, the four accused were shot dead on the same highway where the charred body of a 27-year-old veterinarian was found. At the time, the Telangana police said the accused, who were taken to the scene of the crime for a reconstruction of the crime, attempted to escap

With PTI inputs