Visakhapatnam: After a gap of two years, the special court dealing with SC-ST atrocities resumed the trial of the Special Branch cops accused in the Vakapalli gang rape in Visakhapatnam in 2007, on Monday. The 13 accused cops are continuing in service as usual, while the case dragged all these years.
Eleven tribal women belonging to Vakapalli village under Nurmati Panchayat of G Madugula Mandal in Vizag Agency had alleged that a special branch of the police had come to their village and raped them 15 years back (August 2007). Two of the eleven victims died a couple of years ago due to ill-health.
However, eight of the policemen were given a clean chit and the remaining 13 cops implicated.
On Monday, senior officer and chief of special intelligence branch Srikanth, who was the officer on special duty (OSD-Narsipatnam) at the time of the incident, was examined. Srikanth was the officer who briefed the special police team that went for combining operations in the villages of G Madugula, Vakapalli etc, who had allegedly committed the rape on 11 tribal women.
Sunkara Rajendra, the special public prosecutor litigating the case, said during the deposition that the witness did not entirely support the statement that he had made before investigating officer Sivananda Reddy. Hence, he sought permission to declare the witness as hostile.
The court permitted the prosecution to do so and do the cross-examination.
The case is being heard in the XI-Sessions Judge cum Special Court for SC ST offences in Visakhapatnam. So far, 36 witnesses have been examined. The case has been posted for hearing on April 12.
The court had ordered the 13 accused policemen to undergo a potency test in November 2018. The report has been submitted to the court. The court also took the depositions of the nine survivors.
