“You are trying to evade the questions,” the three-member commission constituted by the Supreme Court to inquire into the alleged encounter killings of the four accused in the rape and murder of Disha by Cyberabad police in December 2019, told Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shamshabad) N. Prakash Reddy on Monday.
Mr. Reddy, who appeared before the commission for the second time, was answering the questions posed on the ‘existing teams and request for additional teams’ for an effective investigation into the gang rape and murder of Disha in the last week of November 2019.
“If 10 teams have had already been formed by November 29, 2019, and were working under your command (ask stated by the then Cyberabad Police Commissioner V.C. Sajjanar in a press conference). How can you say you have requested for additional teams on November,30,2019,” the members said. When Mr. Reddy tried to give a detailed reply. “We will not permit you to evade the questions. Are you becoming masters at evading the questions,” they said.
Further responding to the questioned, the officer said that on November 29, 2019, he had requested Mr. Sajjanar to address the media to announce the arrest of the four accused and briefed him on the facts.
He said that after being arrested, the accused had confessed to the crime after ACP Shadnagar V Surender Reddy had informed him about the accused disclosing the crime and explained the manner in which they committed it. Mr. Reddy said that at 6.45 p.m. the ACP informed him that the disclosure statement of the accused Mohd Arif in the presence of Panchayatdars was completed.
When asked if the accused confessed to the crime within a span of 15 minutes after their arrest at 5 p.m. on November 29, 2019, the DCP said, “It is a disclosure statement and not confession and by 5.15 all the accused had disclosed their crime. It’s not confession because a confession to a police officer or while in police custody is not to be proved as per the Indian Evidence Act.”
When asked how they exhibit a well-prepared presentation during the media conference, the officer said being a software engineer, used Google Earth to plot the important locations, like SOCs, CCTV locations over a period of two days and the presentation was readily available during the conference.
The Commission was surprised to know that media personnel entered the Shadnagar police station and took the photographs of the accused when the officer informed them that the photographs of the accused with their faces covered were available with the media before they addressed the press conference.
Further Mr. Reddy said that the accused were shifted to a safe house on December 4, 2019, after informing the Commissioner, for safe custody.
