Hyderabad: In the days to come, police officials of different ranks, including Director-General of Police M. Mahendar Reddy and Cyberabad police commissioner V.C. Sajjanar — who were directly or indirectly involved with the “encounter” of the four alleged accused in the Disha gang-rape and murder — will be regular visitors to the High Court premises.
The three-member commission appointed by the Supreme Court to probe the “'encounter” of the four alleged accused in the Disha gang-rape and murder case is likely to function from the High Court premises.
Top sources told Deccan Chronicle that such commissions are normally allotted a government guest house, which functions as their office. In this case, the commission is being allotted a court room from where all the proceedings will take place. It is learnt that the commission had sought the court room.
“The statements of all those concerned with the encounter, right from the team that participated in it to their higher-ups, including the DGP and the commissioner, will be recorded before the commission in the court room. Since there is ample security in place within the court premises, it was suitable,” sources said, adding that more security personnel will be posted outside the court room from where the commission will work.
Besides the High Court from where the commission will function, the government has allotted the staff who will be attached to the members of the commission for their day-to-day work.
The accommodation and other arrangements like vehicles, security cover and other paraphernalia for the commission members have not yet been finalised. Sources said that the government has sought some more time to finalise these arrangements which would mean that there is likely to be a further delay in the arrival of the commission in Hyderabad to kickstart the probe. ''It might take another week to 10 days for the government to finalise the remaining arrangements,'' they said.
Last week, Deccan Chronicle had reported how bureaucratic procedures were delaying the arrival of the commission, which has been given six months time, to complete the probe and submit its report to the Supreme Court.
The commission, comprising former Supreme Court Judge V.S. Sirpurkar, retired Bombay High Court judge Justice Rekha Sundar Baldota and former CBI Director D R. Karthikeyan, met in Nagpur in the third week of December last year and forwarded their requirements to the state government.
The commission is likely to hold its second meeting this week after which, based on the state government’s communication, it will finalise the date of arrival of the members. ''Already, a lot of time has been lost in making the arrangements,'' remarked an official.
The woman known as Disha to protect her identity was gang-raped and murdered on November 28, 2019. The four accused in the case — Muhammed Arif, J. Naveen, J. Shiva and Chennakeshavulu — were gunned down in an early morning ''encounter'' on December 6.
