HYDERABAD ENCOUNTER
Following uproar both for and against the extra-judicial killings of four men accused of raping a 26-year-old veterinarian in Hyderabad last week, a petition has been filed in the National Human Rights Commission seeking an autopsy on the deceased's bodies. On Friday, as news of the encounter of the four accused by Hyderabad Police under dubious circumstances caused controversy with a majority of Indians supporting the move. While critics expressed reservations against the glorifying custodial death and even called for inquiries, police have clarified that the killings were in self-defense.Nevertheless, activists Maja Daruwala who is Senior Advisor at Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative and Henri Tiphagne, Executive Director, People’s Watch, have together approached the NHRC to preserve the bodies of the deceased men in order to carry out autopsies. They have also sought a panel of surgeons, preferably from outside of Telangana or Andhra Pradesh, to conduct the autopsy. ...