HYDERABAD: Former commissioner of Cyberabad police, V.C. Sajjanar told a three-member panel appointed by the Supreme Court to probe the alleged encounter killing of the four accused in the Disha rape and murder case, that he had briefed the media on the day of shooting without reading the confessional statements of the accused.
The panel was furious at him for holding a press meet on December 6, 2019, at 3 pm, even as the dead bodies and material evidences were lying a few hundred metres away from him. The official was asked a total of 160 questions by the commission on Monday and Tuesday.
It was revealed during the commission's cross examination of forensic experts and other witnesses that the crowd gathered at the Chatanpally site, where the four accused — Mohammed Arif, Jollu Shiva, Jollu Naveen and Ch. Chennakesavulu — were shot dead, caused hindrance to their job. When asked about the same, Sajjanar said he accepted the request of DCP, Shamshabad, N. Prakash Reddy, that the media was waiting for a long time and needed to be briefed.
Sajjanar ended up mentioning the Shamshabad DCP's name in almost every answer, so much so that the panel asked him how could an official in his rank be so careless in an investigation of such a grave case. "How could you treat this sensational case like a street crime? Are you not responsible and answerable to the court, the government and the public? How could you have confined yourself to 'morning briefings' from your DCPs and not know about the accused being taken to the crime scene for reconstruction?" asked the panel.
Sajjanar told the commission that in the morning of December 6, 2019, he received a call from the Shamshabad DCP about the shooting at 6.20 am and that he reached the place at 8.30 am, following which he stayed there for about an hour-and-a-half. When the panel asked him about the officials informing the judicial magistrate about the shooting, he said that the DCP had informed them at about 10 am. However, the commission revealed that the judicial magistrate was informed only at 5.30 pm. The commission was furious that Sajjanar had addressed the press and revealed investigation details before he even informed the magistrate.
The commission asked him about the actions taken against the four officials of Cyberabad police who did not perform their duty while registering an FIR after a complaint from Disha's parents. He said that the officials were suspended but did not know the status of their punishment. The panel asked him to check and get back on that.
