The alleged victims of rape of Vakapalli can find some solace now as their plea to have a public prosecutor of their choice has been accepted by the High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad.
Directive to Collector
In its order on Thursday, the court directed the district Collector of Visakhapatnam to appoint Palla Trinadha Rao as the public prosecutor (PP) to take up the case on behalf of the victims.
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Eleven adivasi women of the village in Nurmati panchayat of G. Madugula mandal in the Agency region of Visakhapatnam district had allegedly been gangraped by 21 personnel of the Greyhounds, the elite anti-Naxal force of Andhra Pradesh, on August 20, 2007.
Since then, the victims had been waging a legal battle for a “just space.”
After almost 10 years of running from pillar to post, the Supreme Court, on September 1, 2017, had ordered that the case be fast-tracked by a special court.
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Following the order, the case was handed over to the special court in Visakhapatnam that handles cases under the SC, ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Good gesture: HRF
Reacting to the High Court order, V.S. Krishna, general secretary of the Human Rights Forum, said: “As per a Supreme Court order and provisions of the Act, the government is empowered to appoint an exclusive special public prosecutor so desired by the victims to prosecute the case. And it is a good gesture by the court. Whatever maybe the outcome of the case, we can now expect a fair trial and a chance to fight it out.”
Ever since the case was posted to the special court in Visakhapatnam, the surviving nine of the 11 victims had been seeking the appointment of Dr. Trinadha Rao as PP and Jaha Ara as APP.
After submitting a petition to the district Collector, the victims filed a writ plea in the High Court in October last.
Meanwhile, the trial, which was scheduled to begin on Thursday, was adjourned and posted for January 11 due to this development.