The country woke up to the news of the encounter of the four accused in Hyderabad vet’s rape and murder case. It created a social media frenzy, with many netizens openly supporting and some criticising the actions of Telangana State Police. Politicians and celebrities across India voiced their views.
The Quint went live on YouTube with four panel members addressing the incident.
“It was a shock to wake up to the news of the encounter, at first instance it seems like there was a confrontation with the police and the accused, however when the news unfolded, it seems like there are unanswered questions.”Neeraj Gupta, Political Editor
We are also witnessing, in mainstream media, the public’s and politicians’ euphoria over the incident, with flower petals being showered on the police, but we need to be cognisant of the fact that our legal systems says, even if 100 guilty go scot-free, not one innocent should be punished. At a time when the trial hasn’t even started and the court hasn’t proven the accused guilty, there are questions which stand in the way of the encounter, he added.
Aishwarya S Iyer of The Quint, who went to Hyderabad post the murder, questions the lethargy of the police over the delay in filing the case when the family had to go from one police station to another.
“Those who are showering praises on the police should not forget the inaction of the police, when the sister of the victim went to the police and requested to track the phone, the police said to wait until morning as it’s done by private contractors.”Aishwarya S Iyer
Shelly Walia, Senior Editor at The Quint who moderated the show posed a question to legal editor Vakasha Sachdev on due process not having been followed and a delay in justice.
“It is disheartening to see such incidents happening, police would believe they can get away with encounters rather than doing their job and the courts would think, they don’t have to do anything. What kind of behaviour is this?”Vakasha Sachdev, Legal Editor
“There is a process for justice, we as a society should be more responsible. There are media organisations which sensationalise such stories and it needs to be castigated. We complain about our justice system, but how many of us are aware about our justice system?” Vakasha continued.
Neeraj said, “We have seen many cases where lynching are being supported, are we going to make lynching legal? We have also seen, even in terrorism cases, where people have been arrested by the police and later proven innocent. Who will take the responsibility of the innocents?”
“We want a robust policing system, we want a system where a rape doesn’t happen, the issue is a woman was raped, that needs to be countered and that’s where the reactions are missing.”Shelly Walia, Senior Editor
Vakasha concluded the session by quoting a Supreme Court verdict – PUCL vs State of Maharashtra in which the court concluded whether an encounter is on actual criminals or not, it is against Rule of Law.
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