Hyderabad rape case encounter 'Fake', says SC-appointed panel

The Supreme Court-appointed committee on Friday held that the 2019 encounter at Hyderabad was fake and recommended that the 10 police officers be tried for murder for killing of four rape and murder accused."In our considered opinion, the accused were deliberately fired upon with an intent to cause their death and with the knowledge that the firing would invariably result in the death of the deceased suspect," the report said.

We are of the opinion that at the relevant time, Jolu Shiva, Jolu Naveen, and Chintakunta Chennakeshavulu were minors," it said.The four accused - Mohammed Arif, Chintakunta Chennakeshavulu, Jolu Shiva, and Jollu Naveen - were arrested in connection with the gang-rape and murder of a veterinary lady doctor in November 2019.The four accused were shot dead on NH-44 near Hyderabad - the same highway - where the charred body of a 27-year-old veterinarian was found.The police had claimed that on November 27, 2019, the woman veterinarian was kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and later found murdered. It had said that the accused had subsequently burned the body of the woman.The Sirpurkar commission recommended action against police officers involved. The commission has found that the encounter of the accused was "staged by the police".