The encounter killing of the four men accused of gangraping and murdering a Hyderabad veterinarian on Friday set off a chorus of appreciation as well as concern and criticism among general public, politicians and human right activists.
People from different walks of life, including students, in Telangana on Friday showered praise on Cyberabad Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar with some performing “milk bath” to his portraits in Hyderabad and elsewhere.
School and college students and members of different organisations raised slogans like “Jai Police and Jai Jai Sajjanar”.
“We are proud of Sajjanar Sir. He has ensured justice. We want police official like you,” said a schoolgirl in Hyderabad.
The families of the Hyderabad veterinarian victim and of Nirbhaya, the 23-year-old paramedic student who died days after being brutally gangraped in Delhi in December 2012, have both come out in support of the policemen involved in the encounter.
The BJP, the Congress and the entire political class was divided in its reaction to the encounter killing.
BSP chief Mayawati praised the Hyderabad Police saying, “The action that has been taken by the Hyderabad Police is praiseworthy. In UP, this (rape) is happening every day not just in one district but in every district.”
Members of Parliament, like Jaya Bachchan, saw it as speedy justice for the rape victim, others such as Maneka Gandhi and Shashi Tharoor said extrajudicial killings are a matter of concern.
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi slammed the Telengana Police while BJP’s Telengana BJP spokesperson K Krishna Sagar Rao said India is not “Banana Republic.”
“However, India is not a banana republic and is bound by legal and constitutional framework. Politics over crime cannot set a right precedence. Telangana State Government and DGP should call a Press conference immediately,” the BJP said.
“As a responsible national party the BJP will react only after official police statement,” he said.
Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, who is in Ranchi, said an enquiry into the matter to ascertain the facts were needed.
His party colleague Abhishek Singhvi said sometimes the mood of the country takes precedence over human rights “logics”.
BJP leader Maneka Gandhi slammed the police for killing the four accused, saying it set a “horrifying” precedent for the country.
“Jo bhi hua hai bohot bhayanak hua hai is desh ke liye (What happened was horrifying for the country)... You cannot kill people because you want to. You cannot take law in your hands. They (accused) would have been hanged by court anyhow.
“If you’re going to shoot them before due process of law has been followed, then what’s the point of having courts, law and police?” the former Union Women and Child Development Minister told reporters.
Congress leader and Lok Sabha member Shashi Tharoor, however, said extra judicial killings were not acceptable.
“Agree in principle. We need to know more, for instance if the criminals were armed, the police may have been justified in opening fire preemptively. Until details emerge we should not rush to condemn. But extra-judicial killings are otherwise unacceptable in a society of laws,” he tweeted.
Tharoor later said, “We should not rush to condemn until details merge.”
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said it is the anger in people against such incidents that is making them happy about the encounter killings.
“The rape cases that have come to light of late, people are in anger whether it is Unnao or Hyderabad, so people are expressing happiness over the encounter.
“It is also something to be worried about, the way people have lost their faith in the criminal justice system. Together all the Governments will have to take action on how to strengthen criminal justice system.”
BJP MP Rajyavardhan Rathore hailed the encounter and also the leadership” that allowed it.
“I congratulate the Hyderabad police and the leadership that allows the police to act like police. Let all know this is the country where good will always prevail over evil (disclaimer for holier than thou- police acted swiftly in self defence),” he tweeted.
Congress leader Sharmishtha Mukherjee raised questions over the killings and demanded an “unbiased enquiry” into the incident.
“If the police version is right that they wanted to flee, then you cannot allow those who have committed such heinous crimes to get away,” said Mukherjee, daughter of former President Pranab Mukherjee.
“But, on the other hand, there was a lot of public outrage and public pressure on the government. If the government has taken any step under public pressure that could be an extra judicial killing, then that is a very dangerous situation for the country because it will set a precedent,” said Mukherjee. The Congress spokesperson also specified that her remarks were in her personal capacity.
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil on Friday said the version of the Hyderabad police on how the alleged rapists and murderers were killed in an early morning ‘encounter’ sounded funny.
Addressing the audiences at the India Today Conclave East, Sushil said he is against lynchings and ‘this kind of encounters’.
“I am personally against lynching and this kind of encounter. People are celebrating this, but they [the four rape accused] should have been punished under the law. The cops’ version of the story sounds funny,” Sushil Modi said.
Several retired and serving police officers cautioned against doubting the police in the encounter killing of four accused in the gang rape and murder of a 25-year-old veterinarian in Hyderabad, but demanded an independent probe into the incident.
Former Tihar Jail DG Vimla Mehra demanded an enquiry to ascertain the reasons that led to the encounter.
Alok Kumar, former Joint Commissioner of Delhi Police (Crime ranch), said whenever a judicial scrutiny happens, things will be cleared.
“This is a situation that has happened. Two of the policemen also got injured and one of them has serious head injuries. The firing was in self-defence. We should accept things. Subsequently, there will be judicial vetting,” he told PTI over the phone.
