NHRC committee questions MROs in Disha case probe

Hyderabad: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Monday collected information from the Cyberabad police who were present on the spot during the alleged exchange of fire with the four men accused in the Disha case. They also questioned officials of the revenue department who carried out the inquest of the four accused.

Four men accused of raping and killing the veterinarian were killed by police at Chattanpally village, Shadnagar, when they were taken there to identify the place where they had set ablaze the body. The police claimed the men had pulled out firearms and fired at them.

The NHRC after taking suo motu cognisance of the alleged incident of exchange of fire between Cyberabad police and the four men — Mohammed Arif, J. Shiva, J. Naveen, and C. Chenna-

keshavulu— arrived in the city a day after the incident. The seven-member investigation committee of the NHRC, including a forensic expert, visited the scene of the crime at Chattanpally, on the outskirts of the city and examined the bodies of the accused at the Mahbubnagar Government Hospital mortuary and visited the spot at Thondupally toll plaza where Disha was allegedly raped and smothered to death.

On Monday, the committee questioned the four tahsildars (mandal revenue officer) of Farooqnagar, Kothur, Nandigama and Chowudariguda in Ranga Reddy district at the Telangana Police Academy in Narsingi, about the inquest they conducted after the firing incident at Chattanpally on December 6.

Later, the team visited Care Hospital at Gachibowli where Nandigama sub-inspector K. Venkateshwarlu and constable Aravind Goud are being treated for injuries allegedly sustained in the encounter. The team questioned the injured policemen for over an hour and recorded their statements.

The Cyberabad police has submitted a detailed report to the NHRC team on the crime and also the alleged exchange of fire at Chattanpally.

The Special Investigation Team formed by the government to probe the firing at Chattanpally held its first meeting on Monday at Rachakonda police commissionerate headquarters at Neredmet.

The SIT is headed by Rachakonda police commissioner Mahesh Bhagwat and consists of seven officers of the rank of superintendent of police, DCP, DSP, and inspector.  

Firing spot captured with 3D scanner

The Clues team captured the Chattanpally firing spot with a 3D image scanning tool.

The tool, which is used to study shooting incidents, was earlier used in the case of the firing that took place at the residence of Congress leader M. Vikram Goud in Jubilee Hills in 2017.

The Cyberabad police said that the four accused persons had snatched the weapons of the police personnel and opened fire at them when they were taken to recover the belongings of Disha that were concealed near the place where her body was set ablaze.

The Clues team on Monday scanned and captured the area where Disha was set ablaze and the spot where the alleged exchange of fire took place in the early hours of December 6.

The scanning tool helps identify the spot from where the firing started and the distance travelled by the bullets and their impact, and generates an overall picture of the place and the sequence of events.