Telangana High Court on Thursday directed the State government to conduct re-postmortem examination of the bodies of three persons, allegedly Maoists, who were killed in an exchange of fire with the police in Bhadradri Kothagudem district.
Hearing a PIL petition which was moved as lunch motion, a bench of Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy said photographs and videographs of the second PME should be taken and presented before it.
On completion of the second autopsy, the bodies should be handed over to their respective family members, the bench said. It said a team of forensic doctors from MGM hospital in Warangal should be constituted to conduct the autopsy of three bodies.
The PIL plea was filed by Civil Liberties Committee Telangana State president professor Gaddam Laxman seeking to declare the ‘alleged encounter’ in Bhadrachalam Agency area, in which two women and a man were killed, as illegal. A murder case should have been registered against the police personnel responsible for the killing of three persons.
Not registering the case under section 302 of Indian Penal Code should also be declared as illegal, the petitioner said. Lawyer V. Raghunath, appearing for the petitioner, said police killed the three persons and were trying to hastily hand over the bodies to the family members to wipe out crucial evidence in the case. He contended that identity of the ‘murdered persons’ was yet to be established.
Advocate General B.S. Prasad informed the court that the three Maoists were already identified as Sodi Jogaiah, Madakam Mangi and Madakam Malli. PME of the bodies was already completed. The PME was video recorded and the bodies were handed over to the respective family members, the AG said.
Mr. Raghunath contended that there was every possibility of police screening the evidence and insisted for second autopsy. The bench directed the government to recover the bodies from the families and preserve them in Bhadrachalam area hospital.
The team of forensic doctors from MGM hospital would perform the second autopsy. The petition would be heard again on November 5.
