Hyderabad encounter: Telangana high court stays funeral of 4 rape accused

The
Telangana high court stayed the funeral of the four accused killed in an
alleged encounter by the Hyderabad police on Friday morning and ordered the
bodies be preserved till Monday evening, the day it will hear a public interest
litigation questioning the legality of the encounter in detail.

The HC also
ordered that the postmortem of the killed men is videographed and submitted to
the court by Saturday evening.

The bodies
of the four accused were supposed to be buried by 10 pm after the autopsy was
completed at 8:30 pm on Friday. It was not clear immediately if the autopsy was
done in line with the court’s order or if it will be repeated.

The HC was
responding to the petition signed by 15 women and human rights activists who
allege the encouter of Mohammad Ali, Jollu Shiva, Jollu Naveen Kumar and
Chintakunta Chenna Keshavulu– all accused of raping and killing a Hyderabad
veterinarian last week– were carried out in violation of the Supreme Court
guidelines.

The 26-year
old veterinarian was gang raped and killed and her body burnt on the night of
November 27 just outside Hyderabad city after her scooty broke down while she
was returning from work. The incident led to nationwide outrage and demands for
exemplary punishment for the accused, who were nabbed two days later on Friday.

Hyderabad
police said they shot the accused on Friday morning at the crime spot, where
they had been taken for recreation of events and recovery of evidence, after
they snatched cop’s weapons and attempted to escape.

Their encounter
 was widely celebrated across the country
but also led to several human rights organisations raising questions.