Saidabad rape case: TS High Court orders judicial inquiry into Pallakonda Raju's suicide
The Telangana High Court on Friday ordered a judicial inquiry into the alleged suicide of Pallakonda Raju, the accused in the Saidabad rape and murder case.
By Newsmeter Network Published on 17 Sep 2021 1:34 PM GMT
Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Friday ordered a judicial inquiry into the alleged suicide of Pallakonda Raju, the accused in the Saidabad rape and murder case.
On 16 September, Raju was found dead on the railway track near Rajaram station Ghanpur. This was days after the Hyderabad police had announced a reward of Rs. 10 lakh to any person who gives information about Raju.
Activists from the Women and Transgender Organizations Joint Action Committee (WT-JAC), an umbrella organization of various human rights outfits, met M.S Ramachandra Rao, the acting Chief Justice of Telangana High Court. They submitted a memorandum calling for an investigation into the circumstances that led to Raju's death. They also sought the transfer of investigations into the rape and murder of the six-year-old girl to an independent group of senior officers.
Acting Chief Justice has directed the 3rd Metropolitan Magistrate Warangal to complete the investigation within four weeks and submit a report.
According to the averments in the PIL, Raju was in police custody for a few days and his suicide was stage-managed. In support of the contention that Raju was in police custody, the PIL refers to the tweet of IT minister KTR where he stated that the perpetrator was arrested "within hours". He further requested Home minister and the DGP to ensure "justice is delivered expeditiously".
While the Telangana police have maintained that Raju died by suicide by jumping in front of a train, the accused's family has alleged murder and said the 'death by suicide theory' is a cover-up.
Raju's body was cremated in Warangal after a postmortem at MGM Hospital on Thursday evening.
