"If You Do Something Wrong, There Will Be Encounter"

Talasani Srinivas Yadav, Telangana Animal Husbandry Minister, on Saturday justified that the alleged extrajudicial killing of 4 accused in the horrible rape and murder of a 27-year-old veterinarian near Hyderabad, saying that anybody who commits a crime so brutal can expect to be eliminated in a police encounter.

“Yadav sent a warning to criminals, saying that there will be such encounters if wrongdoings are committed,”. In an interview with a local television channel.

"This is a lesson. If your conduct is wrong, you won't benefit from any court trial, a prison sentence or subsequent bail as the case drags on. There will be nothing like that anymore. With this, we have sent transversely a message that if you do something so wrong and cruel, there will be an encounter," Yadav was quoted by NDTV as saying.

An investigative committee of the NHRC continued its investigation for the 2nd day into the alleged encounter in which all 4 accused in the rape and murder of a young veterinarian were shot dead by police.

The family members of the accused were brought to the city from Narayanpet district and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) team, as part of its inquiry, is likely to record their statements, police sources said. "The NHRC team is continuing its inquiry," a senior police official told PTI. A day after the pre-dawn 'encounter', which has started a raging debate over the police action, the team was deputed by the Commission on a 'fact-finding' search.

The team on Saturday visited the mortuary at a state hospital in Mahabubnagar district, where the bodies of the 4 accused have been kept after post-mortem. The NHRC team, including a criminological medicine expert, had inspected the bodies and also visited Chattanpalli village, about 50 km from here, the spot where the charred remains of the woman were found under a culvert on November 28, and also the nearby encounter site.

Taking cognizance of the 'encounter' killings of the 4 accused on Friday, the commission has ordered the probe. The apex human rights body had said the encounter was a matter of concern and needed to be investigated carefully. A 7-member team had been deputed for a fact-finding, on-the-spot investigation into the matter.

The post-mortem of the 4 accused had been performed at the Government District Hospital in Mahabubnagar district and videographed. The Telangana, HC, on Friday, directed the Telangana government to preserve the bodies of 4 accused till 8 PM on December 9 will take up the matter for hearing on Monday.

The court had issued the directive treating as an appeal a representation received in the Office of the Chief Justice alleging that the 'encounter' was extra-judicial killings and requesting judicial involvement. All the 4 accused were gunned down by police on Friday morning at Chattanpalli when they were taken to the scene of crime near the culvert below of it where the charred remains of the veterinarian were found on November 28, to recover her phone, wrist-watch, and others about the case.

The Cyberabad Police had said its personnel resorted to "retaliatory" firing after 2 of the accused opened fire at police after grabbing their weapons besides attacking the latter with stones and sticks, resulting in injuries to 2 policemen. While the police action has largely come in for praise, The 4 were arrested on November 29 for allegedly raping and killing the veterinarian by smothering her and later burning the body.