Hyderabad rape: Telangana High Court asks state to preserve bodies of 4 accused following petition

The bodies of four rape-accused in the Hyderabad rape case – who were gunned down in a police encounter on Friday morning – must be preserved till December 9, said the Telangana High Court. The court has also asked for a video of the post mortem.

The accused were killed in an encounter with police on Friday at around 3 in the morning when they were taken to an open space to recount the crime.

According to the police, the accused tried to snatch arms from them and escape and they were compelled to open fire to “protect” themselves. All four died in the encounter.

A representation was submitted before Telengana High Court by various organisations demanding judicial intervention in the matter after which the court asked for the video of the post mortem.

A representation read, “It would be a fallacy to even imagine that some kind of justice has been served by abandoning all due process and committing such killings. Is it permissible for police personnel to play judge, jury, executioner and mete out fatal justice in this manner? Is the ‘satisfying of the collective conscience’ in such a brazenly unlawful and murderous way healthy for a democracy? This is absolute violation of rule of law and constitutional guarantees.”

The representation has also demanded the High Court to form a separate forensic team from states other than Andhra Pradesh or Telangana so that they can independently examine the bodies. There is also demand to form a court-monitored committee to scrutinise the FIRs registered in the case.

[Cover image representational]