Telangana minister Talasani Shrinivas Yadav, who stoked a row with his statement supporting the encounter of four men accused of raping and killing a 26-year-old vet, on Sunday said he was misquoted.
Yadav had stoked a row when he said the encounter was a lesson that anybody who commits such heinous crime can expect to be eliminated in the encounter.
“What I said at the beginning, what I said at last… they are cutting it and pasting it in middle. That is not the proper interpretation. It is not correct," he said while speaking to news agency ANI. He had added that directions for “reconstruction of crime happened with instruction from above”.
The minister also alleged that he was being singled out for criticism. "So many people are happy with what the Telangana police did.. even leaders in Parliament have praised their actions… lawyers and advocates have praised it… so why am I being targeted?"
Speaking about the encounter, Yadav had said: "They (accused) were taken at the place for scene reconstruction. They kept misleading. They started pelting stones at the police. They tried to fire after snatching revolver from ASI. But the law is there for self-protection. They (police) took action according to law.”
The killing of four accused in the brutal gang rape and murder of a veterinarian in Telangana's Shamshabad on November 27 has left opinions divided. While many claim that the "encounter" would act as a deterrent to sexual predators, others were of the opinion that accused should have been given a chance to prove their innocence in court.
The four men, all lorry workers, aged between 20 and 24, were arrested on November 29 for raping and killing the woman by smothering her and later burning her body. They were initially remanded to judicial custody and were transferred to police custody on Wednesday.
Several questions on how the police found itself in a situation where it led to a shootout remain unanswered.
No details were immediately available about how many police had escorted the four accused and whether they were handcuffed or roped together as is usually the case.
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