The recent statement of Telangana minister for animal husbandry Talasani Srinivas Yadav suggesting that the killing of four rape and murder accused in an alleged encounter with the police was done with the knowledge of chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has landed the latter in a big soup.
Talasani was referring to the criticism from the opposition parties about KCR’s unusual silence on the rape and murder of Disha, a veterinarian raped and murdered by the four accused on the night of November 27.
“If KCR is silent, it only means he is very agitated and angry. And he has shown his anger by getting the four accused killed encounter,” the minister said.
Apparently, the TRS leaders were unhappy over the way the entire credit for killing the four accused in Disha rape and murder case had gone to Cyberabad police commissioner V C Sajjannar, as was evident from the way he was hailed by the local and national media as a hero and the people performed milk bath to his portraits.
The TRS leaders wondered whether Sajjannar would have taken the decision to eliminate the accused in the encounter without the knowledge of the chief minister.
“The public support should come to the chief minister and not the police commissioner,” they argued.
That is perhaps why Talasani chose to give credit to KCR by stating that it was only because of the chief minister that the encounter had taken place, indicating that the entire episode was stage-managed.
However, what he has forgotten in the process that if the encounter was stage-managed and the killing of the four persons took place with full knowledge and orders of the chief minister, it would mean the latter had resorted to an illegal act and was liable for prosecution.
“It is very clear that Talasani brazenly tried to take political advantage of the encounter incident and leverage the heinous crime and the surge of people's emotions, for petty political expediency,” a BJP leader said.
The BJP asked the state high court to take cognizance of Talasani’s statement that the encounter had the support of the chief minister.
“The police commissioner said the accused had snatched the weapons from the police and tried to shoot them; and the police had to retaliate, killing them on the spot. But Talasani says the four were killed following the chief minister’s orders. Who is correct,” he asked.