Tale of two encounters -- similar script featuring one cop
Hyderabad: It's a tale of two encounters 11 years apart with many similarities -- both in December and both featuring V C Sajjanar in a central role. Cyberabad Commissioner Sajjanar, who was hailed by many as a hero on Friday for the killing of four men accused in the gangrape and murder of a Hyderabad veterinarian, was superintendent of police in 2008.
The story began in Warangal on December 10 that year. Swapnika and T Pranitha, both electrical engineering students, were riding home on a two-wheeler when three youths on a motorcycle came alongside and threw sulphuric acid on them.
Swapnika, who was riding pillion, was the target and took the full impact of the acid squirted from a plastic bottle. Pranitha, who was wearing a helmet, was not so badly injured.
The incident led to protests across what was then unified Andhra Pradesh and the clamour for justice. Sajjanar, a 1996 batch IPS officer, headed the probe. Soon, three men -- S.Srinivas, D Sanjay and P Harikrishna -- were arrested. Three days later came the news about the three being killed in the encounter, propelling Sajjanar to the status of instant hero.
At the time, Sajannar told reporters that a police team had taken the accused to the place where they had hidden the stolen motorbike and the acid bottle used in the attack.
"They suddenly took out a country-made weapon and tried to open fire and also threw acid on policemen. The police opened fire in self-defence, killing all the three accused," he had said.
A similar story played out on Friday.
"... all the four accused got together, they started attacking the police party with stones, sticks, and other material. And they also they snatched away weapons from our two officers and started firing," Sajjanar said.
Police will complete investigations into the case and submit a chargesheet in the case before a court in Telangana. All the accused will be mentioned as accused in column number two -- for people who could not be brought to trial due to their death.
The incident took place around 6.30 am when the accused, lorry workers aged between 20 and 24, were taken to the scene of the crime near Hyderabad for a reconstruction of events as part of the investigation, a senior police official said.
The four men were arrested on November 29 for allegedly raping and killing the woman by smothering her and later burning her body.
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WHO declares global health emergency over Ebola outbreak in Congo, Uganda
Abuja (Nigeria) (AP): WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared the Ebola disease outbreak in Congo and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern on Sunday after more than 300 suspected cases and 88 deaths.
In a post on X, the World Health Organisation said the outbreak does not meet the criteria of a pandemic emergency like the COVID-19 pandemic, and advised against the closure of international borders.
Ebola is highly contagious and can be contracted via bodily fluids such as vomit, blood or semen. The disease it causes is rare, but severe and often fatal.
Health authorities have confirmed the current outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, a rare variant of the Ebola disease that has no approved therapeutics or vaccines. Although more than 20 Ebola outbreaks have taken place in Congo and Uganda, this is only the third time the Bundibugyo virus has been reported.
Congo accounts for all except two of the cases, both of which were reported in neighbouring Uganda, the WHO said.
Officials first reported the spread of the disease in Congo's eastern province of Ituri, close to Uganda and South Sudan, on Friday. On Saturday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention reported 336 suspected cases and 87 deaths.
“There are significant uncertainties regarding the true number of infected persons and geographic spread associated with this event at the present time. In addition, there is limited understanding of the epidemiological links with known or suspected cases,” Tedros said.
Uganda on Saturday confirmed one case it said was imported from Congo, and said the patient died at a hospital in Uganda's capital, Kampala, and the WHO said that a second case has been reported in Kampala. The two cases had no apparent links to each other, and both patients had travelled from Congo, it added.
The Bundibugyo virus was first detected in Uganda's Bundibugyo district during a 2007-2008 outbreak that infected 149 people and killed 37 people. The second time was in 2012 in an outbreak in Isiro, Congo, where 57 cases and 29 deaths were reported.
WHO's emergency declaration is meant to spur donor agencies and countries into action. However, the global response to previous declarations has been mixed.
In 2024, when the WHO declared mpox outbreaks in Congo and elsewhere in Africa a global emergency, experts at the time said it did little to get supplies like diagnostic tests, medicines and vaccines to affected countries quickly.
