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Murder of advocate couple triggers protests, Telangana HC takes up case
The high court directed that the police obtain the details of passengers travelling in two buses which were passing by the scene of offence and make them witnesses.
The Telangana high court on Thursday took suo motu cognizance of Wednesday’s murder of an advocate couple on the main road in Peddapalli district and directed that the state government submit a comprehensive report on the incident by March 1.
A division bench headed by Chief Justice Hima Kohli also served notices on director general of police M Mahender Reddy asking him to submit all the evidences gathered from the scene of offence to the court.
The couple - Gattu Vaman Rao (53) and P V Nagamani (50), both lawyers practising in the state high court – was returning from Manthani town after arguing a case in the local court, when they were waylaid by some miscreants at around 3 pm and hacked to death on the main road at Kalvacharla village of Ramagiri block.
The videos of the miscreants attacking the couple indiscriminately and Rao telling onlookers that one Kunta Srinu of Gunjapadugu village and others assaulted them, went viral in the media.
The high court directed that the police obtain the details of passengers travelling in two buses which were passing by the scene of offence and make them witnesses. “Several videos are doing the rounds on social media and they, too, should be preserved as evidence,” the chief justice said.
Stating that the murders questioned the integrity of the police and the government, Justice Kohli said the government should investigate the case from all angles to remove apprehensions among the people.
Meanwhile, lawyers belonging to various courts in Hyderabad and other parts of Telangana boycotted their duties on Thursday and staged demonstrations demanding stringent action against the accused.
Several advocates of the Nampally criminal courts complex were taken into custody by the police, when they tried to take out a rally up to Raj Bhavan demanding safety and security to the practising advocates. They were taken to Begumpet police station and let-off later.
Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president N Uttam Kumar Reddy demanded that the state government hand over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation, since the people had lost faith on the state police.
