Court acquits 21 policemen accused of gang-raping 11 AP tribal women

Visakhapatnam: As many as 21 policemen accused of gang-raping 11 Kondh tribal women 16 years ago at a village in Alluri Sitarama Raju district in the state have been acquitted by a Special Court.

The Court held the accused were primarily acquitted because of the failure of the two investigating officers to conduct a fair and impartial investigation. The women were allegedly gangraped by the police personnel who belonged to Greyhounds, a special team, in August 2007.

The trial commenced in Visakhapatnam in 2018 and culminated on Thursday with the XI Additional District and Sessions Judge- cum-Special Court under the SC & ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act acquitting the policemen because of malafide investigation. Meanwhile, the Court ordered that the survivors of rape be paid compensation through the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA).

According to a Human Rights Forum (HRF) member, none of the accused policemen was arrested and some of them went on to successfully superannuate while some died. M Sarat, vice-president of HRF- Andhra Pradesh State Committee, alleged the "Greyhounds forces had raped 11 tribal women in August 2007 and a police complaint was filed against them but not even a single accused person was arrested." The forum alleged that a 21-member special police party had gone to Vakapally village on August 20, 2007 for combing operations, and sexually assaulted the 11 tribal women belonging to the particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG).

"The very fact that the Court has ordered compensation to be paid to the Vakapally rape survivors shows that the Court reposed faith in their depositions," HRF said.

According to the forum, the probe against the accused policemen was compromised at the very beginning and carried out with the motive to protect them, disregarding procedures mandated by the criminal code while the forensic medical examinations were vitiated.