Disha encounter case: Telangana govt to present evidence to Supreme Court-appointed panel today

The Telangana government, led by K Chandrashekar Rao, has been directed by the Supreme Court-appointed Justice Sirpurkar commission to present its evidence on Saturday in the alleged police encounter of four young men accused of gang rape and murder of a 26-year-old veterinary doctor at Shamshabad near Hyderabad in November 2019. The crime sparked massive outrage in several parts of the country, with the media calling the subsequent killing of the four accused in police custody as ‘Disha encounter’.

The Justice Sirpurkar Commission was constituted by the Supreme Court to investigate the allegations of extrajudicial killings by the Cyberabad Police. According to reports, the committee finished collecting records in the case earlier this week and has now moved on to the evidence recording phase. Owing to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) situation, the panel is conducting its proceedings in a hybrid manner, issuing summons for physical presence wherever necessary. It has also held 16 virtual hearings and passed orders in 24 applications filed by the police so far.

Disha, the name given by the police to the victim to protect her identity, was a veterinary assistant surgeon at a state-run hospital when she was attacked one night by the four men, according to confessions recorded by the police. The four men raped and smothered Disha to death and then loaded her body into a truck and burned it under a bridge later that night. With the incident sparking nationwide outrage, the Telangana police came under pressure to deliver punishment without delay on the basis of a fast-track court trial.

All four accused in the Disha gang rape-and-murder were killed while in police custody on December 6, 2019, under a bridge on the Bengaluru-Hyderabad national highway. According to the police, the accused allegedly snatched guns and attacked police officers. In the ensuing gunfight, all the four accused were shot dead, said the Cyberabad Police. Although the ‘Disha encounter’ was viewed by many as an instance of extrajudicial execution, thousands across the country celebrated the ‘swift justice’ in the form of the death of the accused.

The Justice Sirpurkar Commission issued a press release earlier this week, saying that witnesses have to be examined in physical presence “considering the gravity of the issue under inquiry and the sensitive nature of the evidence”. In connection with this, the Supreme Court-appointed panel ordered the Telangana government to present its evidence before the commission in the high court building at 11:30am on August 21.