A team of doctors from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi, visited the state-run Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad on Monday, and conducted the second autopsy on the bodies of four men accused in the Disha rape and murder case.
The accused had allegedly gang-raped and murdered a woman veterinarian – Disha (not her real name) – near Hyderabad on November 28. They were later killed in an encounter with the police on December 6.
The team that performed the autopsy was led by Dr Sudhir Gupta, head of forensic department at AIIMS, and had Dr Adarsh Kumar and Dr Abhishek Yadav as members. Dr Varun Chandra assisted the team in the post-mortem examination.
The team, which conducted the fresh autopsy on directions of the Telangana High Court, will submit a report to the Registrar General of the HC by Monday evening. The entire process was videographed. The doctors were advised to express an independent view on the basis of the evidence collected by them.
A team of forensic experts from AIIMS, New Delhi reached the Gandhi Hospital morgue, to conduct the second post-mortem on the bodies of four accused in the Disha case reports @AbhinayTheHindu. pic.twitter.com/G16ReZB3nr
— The Hindu-Hyderabad (@THHyderabad) December 23, 2019
"The team spoke to the family members of the deceased after arriving here. This was also recorded. The kin then identified the bodies, following which the autopsy was conducted. The entire process was transparent," Dr Shravan, Superintendent of Gandhi Hospital, told reporters.
"We provided all the facilities that the AIIMS team asked for, and we ensured no interference from our side. They typed the report themselves in confidentiality. Even I stood outside. We strictly followed the High Court's orders," he added.
The Superintendent said that ambulances were also arranged to transport the bodies of the deceased after the autopsy to their native villages along with their family members.
The bodies had been kept at the mortuary of Gandhi Hospital as per an earlier order of the HC, after pleas were filed alleging extra-judicial killing of the men, with activists and family members of the deceased claiming it was a fake encounter.
The four accused were arrested on November 29 for allegedly raping and killing the woman veterinarian and burning her body. The case triggered widespread protests across the country, with many demanding capital punishments for the accused.
On December 6, they were gunned down by police at Chattanapally when they were taken to the site of the offence for reconstruction of the crime scene for investigation. The police said that the accused snatched their weapons and opened fire on them. The four were killed in retaliatory fire from the police. The encounter has come under legal scrutiny.
The first post mortem was conducted on December 6, the day the four men were killed, in a state-run hospital in Mahabubnagar from where the bodies were subsequently shifted to Gandhi Hospital.
PTI inputs