A Special Court acquitted 21 police officers accused of gang-raping 11 Kondh tribal women in a hamlet in the state’s Alluri Sitarama Raju district 16 years ago.
The Court determined that the accused were principally acquitted because the two investigating officers failed to conduct a fair and impartial inquiry.
In August 2007, the ladies were reportedly kidnapped by Greyhounds, a special unit of police officers.
The trial began in Visakhapatnam in 2018 and ended on Thursday with the XI Additional District and Sessions Judge-cum-Special Court under the SC & ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act acquitting the cops due to a sham probe.
The Court further directed that rape survivors be compensated through the District Legal Services Authority. (DLSA).
According to a member of the Human Rights Forum (HRF), none of the accused cops were arrested, and some of them successfully superannuated while others died.
“Greyhounds forces had raped 11 tribal women in August 2007 and a police complaint was filed against them but not even a single accused person was arrested.” The forum alleged that a 21-member special police party had gone to Vakapally village on August 20, 2007 for combing operations, and sexually assaulted the 11 tribal women belonging to the particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG), M Sarat, vice-president of HRF- Andhra Pradesh State Committee, alleged, PTI reported.
“The very fact that the Court has ordered compensation to be paid to the Vakapally rape survivors shows that the Court reposed faith in their depositions,” HRF said.
According to the forum, the investigation against the accused cops was compromised from the start and was carried out with the goal of protecting them, violating processes prescribed by the criminal code, and tainting the forensic medical examinations.
