Hyderabad: The second autopsy on the four slain accused in the brutal rape and murder of a woman veterinarian was done by a team of forensic experts of AIIMS, Delhi at a hospital here, following which the bodies were handed over to their families, a top official said.
A separate cabin had been arranged at the Gandhi Hospital for the AIIMS team for the autopsy and the entire process was videographed, Superintendent of the state-run facility Dr P Shravan Kumar said.
The Telangana High Court had December 21 ordered the re- post-mortem of the four, who were killed in an alleged encounter with police near here December 6. The first post-mortem was conducted on the day when the alleged encounter took place at a government hospital in Mahabubnagar from where the bodies were subsequently shifted to the Gandhi Hospital.
“The autopsy is over. The forensic experts will be handing over their report in a sealed cover to the High Court. The bodies have been handed over to the next of kin after due identification process was done,” Kumar told reporters.
A police official said two ambulances each carrying two bodies left for the native places of the deceased in Narayanpet district.
Before starting the second autopsy, the AIIMS team interacted with the kin of the deceased men and recorded their statements. “The team first wanted to talk to the kin of the deceased. So accordingly we arranged an interaction with them. The team recorded their statements. The relatives informed the team that they would take the bodies once the process is completed,” said Kumar.
On its request, the team was provided a handicam (portable video camera) and a computer, Kumar added. The police had made elaborate security arrangements near the hospital.
The bodies of the four accused have been preserved in the Gandhi Hospital as per the earlier orders of the high court after some PILs were filed alleging that the encounter was fake and amounted to extra-judicial killing.
The four accused were arrested November 29 for allegedly raping and killing the woman veterinarian and burning her body. The case triggered widespread protests across the country.
Police shot the four dead in the ‘encounter’ after the latter allegedly attacked them at Chattanpalli where they were taken for reconstruction of the crime scene for investigation.
PTI