Disha probe team delayed
Telangana drags its feet over logistics.
HYDERABAD: The three-member commission, appointed by the Supreme Court to probe the encounter of the arrested in the Disha rape case, has put its travel plans to Hyderabad on hold, for the time being. The reason being cited for this is the Telangana state government’s dilly-dallying over providing the logistics to the commission. It is unclear if the move by the TS government is deliberate but has ended up delaying the commencement of proceedings of the commission.
It was on December 12, that the Supreme Court had set up the three-member commission to investigate the killings of the four alleged accused in what the police said was an encounter. The four arrested – Muhammed Arif, J Naveen, J Shiva and Chennakeshavulu – were gunned down in an encounter on the outskirts of city in the wee hours of December 6. Disha was abducted, gang raped and murdered on November 28, last year.
Sources in the know of developments told Deccan Chronicle that so far the members of the commission have not been able to finalise the date of their arrival in Hyderabad, as the state government was said to be taking its own time to finalise the arrangements. The only aspect that has more or less been finalised is that the commission will be given a court hall in the Telangana state High Court from where they will conduct the proceedings. Since the members of the Telangana police itself are under investigation, the security cover for the panel members is being provided by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
Besides that, the accommodation for the three members, staff, vehicles and other needs have not yet been finalised which has ended up in the commission putting their travel plans on hold for now. “Unless all arrangements are in place, the commission has no choice but to wait. In the process, more than a month has passed,” they said. As things stand now, it is expected that the commission will arrive in Hyderabad only in the month of February.
The committee held their first meeting in the third week of December.