Officials ignore 21-day deadline to book and punish the guilty

KURNOOL: The deadline of 21 days given to the police to complete the investigation and the courts to convict culprits in rape cases under the Disha Act is being ignored by the authorities. Such cases are making no headway for months even in the matter of collecting basic information.

The investigations into the rape and murder of a victim in Erraapadu village in Gonegandla mandal of Kurnool district are progressing at a snail's pace. Some influential individual(s) is suspected to be involved. The police are tight-lipped in sharing the details.

The Errapadu victim was raped and murdered a year ago. Recently, an all-party delegation visited the victim's family and later demanded a speedy trial.

A police official said the Disha DSP is the investigating officer. At least 70 to 80 suspects have been interrogated and their statements recorded. "In this case, it appears difficult to prove the case as no clues are available. There was a gap of 16 hours between the incident and the lodging of a complaint with the police. Had they not shifted the body from the scene of the crime, it would have been easy for the police to collect clues,” he said.

Kurnool SP Sudheer Reddy said police have approached the court for orders to conduct polygraph tests on the suspects. The case is being investigated by a DSP in charge of Disha.  To a question he said, there was no delay on the part of the police and they are awaiting court orders.

In another high-profile case of rape and murder of a 16-year-old tribal girl in a private school, too, there is no headway. The home minister had referred the case to the CBI for investigation but the central agency rejected the request citing procedural problems.