The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Rights panel continues probe into rape of tribal women

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jun 16, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Rights panel continues probe into rape of tribal women

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, JUNE 15. The State Human Rights Committee (SHRC), which is enquiring into the rape of three tribal women by policemen, recorded the deposition of a key eyewitness in its chambers here on Tuesday.

In his deposition, Anjayya, a relative of the rape victims, narrated the incident at Botukulapaya tanda in Veldurthy mandal of Guntur district. The women, along with their relatives -- Marc and Anjayya -- were taken away by the policemen to a hillock on the intervening night of September 30 and October 1 last year after questioning them about `annalu.' Anjayya said the policemen had taken the women aside to the nearby bushes. Anjayya identified five of the 13 respondents who had beaten him up. He did not show any hesitation in identifying Sheikh Khaja Vali, Chandra Sekhar, Ch. Srinivas, N. Sridhar Goud and G. Koteswara Rao. Prior to the identification, the respondents were shuffled at the request of their counsel to rule out the possibility of the eyewitness identifying them "in the order of the serial numbers as may have been given to him by the Mahila Samakhya."

He also identified all the 12 policemen present before the committee in the group of cops who visited the tanda in September. Anjayya told the committee that he had taken treatment from one Srinu at Sirigiripadu for the injuries sustained by him in the assault by the policemen. He had reported the matter to the Macherla CI in the presence of Vajralapadu sarpanch, Ranga Nayak, but the CI did not record the statement though he had obtained his thumb impression.

Anjayya said he along with Mark and Anjamma were sent to Macherla for treatment by the CI when they complained of pain.

Later, the sarpanch deposed and said 20 relatives of the victims had told him about the incident next day and he reported the matter to the former MLA, Puli Kunna Reddy, at Macherla who, in turn, spoke to higher police officials. "When the five persons were not set free, the former MLA asked us to go to Vendurthy police station and meet the Sub-Inspector and we found the five victims detained there," the sarpanch said.

The committee would hear depositions of Marc and the samakhya member, Pasya Padma, on Wednesday.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Andhra Pradesh