Don’t cremate body of Hyderabad rape accused: Activists approach Telangana HC

Activists on Thursday approached the acting Chief Justice of Telangana High Court calling for halting the cremation of the Saidabad rape and murder accused. The activists raised suspicions over the circumstances that led to the death of 30-year-old Pallakonda Raju  and called for an independent post-mortem monitored by the High Court. The man accused of the rape and murder of a six-year-old girl in Hyderabad was found dead on September 16, Thursday morning, on the railway tracks near Station Ghanpur, under the Warangal Police Commissionerate limits. 

The activists belonging to the Women and Transgender Organisations Joint Action Committee (WT-JAC), an umbrella organisation of various human rights organisations met MS Ramachandra Rao, the acting Chief Justice, Telangana High Court, on Thursday evening. They submitted a memorandum calling for an investigation into circumstances that lead to Raju’s death and sought for the transfer of investigations into the rape and murder of the 6-year-old girl, to an independent group of senior officers.

Pallakonda Raju is the main accused in the rape and murder of a 6-year-old Adivasi girl at Singareni Colony of Saidabad in Hyderabad. The Hyderabad police had announced a Rs 10 lakh reward for tip-offs that could lead to his capture. The committee raised suspicions on Raju's ‘disappearance’ soon after the crime and his subsequent ‘death’ on the railway tracks. 

According to the Warangal Commissioner Tarun Joshi, around 9:58 am on Thursday the Ghanpur station police received a call regarding an unidentified person found dead on the railway track. The Ghanpur sub inspector along with his team visited the spot. As police were already on the lookout for the accused, they had all details about the accused’s identification marks, clothes etc. Based on the comparison of details, the police identified the body to be that of the rape accused Raju. The information was provided by a railway employee who was working on the railway track. 

The delegation sought directions from the Telangana High Court to halt the cremation immediately and preserve Raju’s body, until further orders from the High Court and submit the CCTV footage of the scene of death. They also sought directions for the formation of a special team of forensic experts and autopsy surgeons from outside Telangana (preferably AIIMS), to undertake an independent post-mortem and video-graphing of the post-mortem, as per National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) guidelines. The letter mentioned that any delay at this stage in issuing an order by the Hon’ble Court will further enable state authorities to conduct a hurried post mortem and ensure that the body is cremated, thereby compromising the facts. 

They also asked the Court to ensure an immediate inquest of Raju by a judicial magistrate, under Section 176 (1) (a), as per the procedure established in the Code of Criminal Procedure.

For a fair and impartial investigation, in the interests of justice, the committee has sought the transfer the investigation into the rape and murder of the six-year-girl to a specially constituted, independent team of senior police officials.

The delegation also sought directions asking the state to ensure legal actions are taken as per orders of the Supreme Court and the NHRC. The WT-JAC that met with the acting Chief Justice consists of members from Progressive Organization of Women, Feminist Magazine, independent Journalists, Social activists, members of the Human Rights Forum and Dalit Women's Collective. 

The delegation members had also approached the acting CJ on Wednesday and had submitted a detailed memorandum seeking contempt action against political leaders issuing open calls for 'encounter killings' in sexual violence cases. Such statements are not just utterly irresponsible but also encourages impunity among the police and lawlessness among the people, WT-JAC members said.

Earlier the WT-JAC had intervened in the issue of the extra-judicial killings of four accused/suspects in the ‘Disha’ gangrape and murder case, some of who are reported to be minors. Based on the directions of the Supreme Court, a Judicial Commission headed by Justice V Sirpurkar is presently inquiring into the facts and circumstances that led to the gunning down of four young men by the Shadnagar police, in December 2019.