Hyderabad vet could have been saved but police wasted precious time: Victim's family tells NCW
New Delhi: The Hyderabad Police played a "negative role" and "wasted precious time" which could have been used to save the life of a veterinarian who was brutally raped and murdered, her family members told the NCW on Saturday.
The National Commission for Women (NCW) had sent an inquiry committee headed by a member of the panel to look into the alleged rape and murder, which has sparked a national outrage.
The charred body of the 25-year-old veterinary doctor was found on the outskirts of Hyderabad. She was raped and killed allegedly by four men, all lorry workers. The four accused were sent to judicial custody for 14 days on Saturday.
NCW chief Rekha Sharma said the family told NCW member Shyamal S Kunder that the police played a "negative role" in the case. Kunder said the family claimed that before filing the complaint, the police even levelled allegation that "she had eloped with someone", Sharma added.
A lot of time was wasted because the police were fighting over jurisdiction that in which police station the case should be registered, Sharma claimed.
She also slammed Telangana Home Minister Mohammed Mahmood Ali's remarks on the victim, saying such people do not deserve the position and they need to be sensitised.
Ali said had the victim called the police instead of calling her sister, "she could have been saved."
An NCW team visited the family of the veterinarian on Saturday. The family members told the team that police wasted "precious three-to-four hours" that could have been used to save her life, Sharma said.
"We are standing with the family of the victim. I will also go there (Hyderabad) and ensure police is probing the matter properly and that the matter is chargesheeted on time. We demand that the case be sent to fast-track court and justice is served at the earliest and the people responsible are hanged to death," Sharma told reporters.
The NCW, in its report, said prima facie it observed that police officials delayed taking action in this case. "Victim's family was shunted between two police stations over the issue of jurisdiction," the NCW said in the report.
"Police came into action only the next day though the victim's family had reached out to them immediately after her cellphone was found switched off," it said in the report.
The NCW further claimed that the victim's family has still not been given any protection and there is no women investigating officer in the entire team probing the case.
"Police officials claim that the CCTV footage from the toll plaza is not clear, which is strange. The lorry driver and cleaner parked their vehicle on the roadside and they consumed alcohol in the vicinity of the toll plaza but the police didn't bother inquiring the reason for either. There was no police patrol around the area," the report said.
The NCW said it has given instruction to the DCP Cyberabad to get the CCTV cameras installed and checked at various locations in the city, particularly the toll plazas.
"The women's panel asked the police officials to be vigilant and provide designated areas for trucks and heavy vehicles and not let them loiter around in the city," the report said.
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Kannur dental student death: Case registered against loan app operators, parents allege murder
Kannur (PTI): A case has been registered against unidentified loan app operators in connection with the death of a Kannur Dental College student in Anjarakandy, officials said on Monday.
However, the victim’s parents alleged that their son was murdered and held the college faculty responsible for his death.
The Kannur Cyber Police registered the case on Sunday night based on a complaint by an assistant professor of the college.
According to police, Nithin Raj R L, a first-year BDS student, had taken a loan through an online loan app.
After he defaulted on repayment, the app operators allegedly began contacting the assistant professor.
The FIR stated that the accused contacted the woman faculty member via MMS and WhatsApp, threatening her over repayment and attempting to siphon off money illegally.
Sources said that in cases of default, such loan app operators often send messages to all available contacts of the borrower.
Raj (22), a native of Uzhamalackal, Puthukulangara in Thiruvananthapuram district, was found critically injured near the medical college block after falling from a building on April 10 and later succumbed to his injuries.
The family alleged that Raj was subjected to emotional harassment on caste and complexion grounds by two faculty members, following which a case was registered against Dental Anatomy Department Head M K Ram and Associate Professor K T Sangeetha Nambiar for abetment of suicide and under provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Even though notices were issued to both accused to appear for interrogation, they are yet to respond to the police, officials said.
Police officials said the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case is also examining whether Raj’s death was linked to threats from the loan app operators.
The cyber case has been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including Sections 351(2) (criminal intimidation) and 308(3) (extortion), along with Section 66D of the Information Technology Act (cheating by personation using computer resources).
Police said Raj’s mobile phone will be examined to gather details about the loan app, and a detailed statement will be recorded from the assistant professor who received the threatening messages and calls.
Meanwhile, the SIT has recovered chat details from Raj’s phone, which indicate that he had sought more time to repay the loan.
According to police, Raj had taken a loan of Rs 14,000, and the app operators had demanded immediate repayment of Rs 8,000.
As his family was facing financial difficulties, he had requested a few weeks’ time to settle the dues.
The SIT, led by the Station House Officer of Chakkarakkallu police station, visited Raj’s house on Monday and recorded statements of his parents and sister.
The four-member team also collected digital evidence from them.
The family also met the State Police Chief Ravada Chandrasekhar and filed a petition seeking a detailed probe into the incident.
Raj’s father Rajan said his son had taken the loan for his mother’s treatment.
“We were repaying it. But recently, the repayment defaulted. If the teacher was aggrieved by the loan app’s calls and my son had done anything wrong, they should have informed us. You can check my phone, there is no call from the college,” he said.
Rajan said he had little hope of getting justice.
“They all killed my son. What justice can I expect? I worked hard for his education. We lost everything,” he said.
He also alleged that even three days after Raj’s death, there had been no communication from the college authorities.
“He was a student of that college. Not even a word from the authorities. Students there, fearing for their future, are not speaking out. At least one student should speak out for us,” he said.
Meanwhile, protests erupted at Kannur Dental College on Monday, with final-year BDS students also joining the agitation.
The college has granted leave to students of other batches following the incident.
Students alleged that the accused faculty member, M K Ram, misbehaved with students by body-shaming and physical assault.
“We were living under severe pressure. Ram was involved in body-shaming. Verbal abuse was frequent. Apart from it, he used to hit students on the head. There were also complaints against him and disciplinary action taken earlier,” a student told reporters.
Political organisations, including KSU of the Congress, SFI and DYFI of the CPI(M), MSF of the IUML and ABVP of the BJP, carried out protest marches.
KSU and SFI activists who entered the college compound were later detained and removed by police.
Kerala SC/ST Commission Chairperson Shekaran Miniyodan visited Raj’s house and interacted with his family.
He said the Commission has registered a case and sought a report from the police.
“We will collect information along with the SIT about the incident. Apart from the preliminary investigation report, we will also examine the postmortem report,” he said.
Similarly, the Kerala Youth Commission has also registered a case and recorded statements of students of the college.
Commission Chairman M Shajar said students have raised serious allegations against M K Ram and that a detailed probe would be conducted with police support.
Earlier, the Kerala State Human Rights Commission had also registered a case and sought a report from the police.
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