SIT to study sessions court order before proceeding further

Vijayawada: With sessions court turning down the plea of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to reinvestigate Ayesha Meera murder case, the SIT has decided to study the order of the court before taking any legal step.This was disclosed to ‘The Hans India’ by AP special legal advisor S Raghu here on Sunday. He said they were awaiting the order copy so that they could take the next move. It was Raghu who submitted the SIT petition to the sessions court a few days ago.

After the acquittal of Satyam Babu, who served imprisonment for eight years the image of police received a beating. Even though the State Women Commission chairperson proposed assigning the task to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the government formed a SIT headed by DIG-rank official Ch Srikant. While City Commissioner of Police D Gautam Sawang supervising the SIT, other officials—DSPs D Hymavati, Sreelakshmi and Inspector Sahera Begum—formed part of the team.

Everybody thought that it was a bold step as the High Court already asked the government to punish the investigating officers for framing Satyam Babu in the murder case. On the other hand, parents of Ayesha Meera had filed a petition asking the High Court requesting a probe by CBI. They had also pleaded that if it was a SIT, it should be monitored by the High Court. They made these observations as they have no faith on the state police.

It was evident that the state government had no intention to appeal in the High Court as the court had questioned it on action taken against the cops responsible for imprisonment of Satyam Babu. The High Court wanted action in response to private petitions filed in the case. However, the stained image of the police uniform seems unlikely to be redressed by the government as it has pursued SIT route, which was opposed by many, a senior advocate said.

By Noor Shaik