Responding to the chilling
murder of an advocate couple, Gattu Vaman Rao and P V Nagamani, who were hacked to death by two unknown assailants in Peddapalli yesterday, the Telangana High Court today asked the state government to submit a report on the incident.
Taking cognisance of the killings, the court issued notices to the state government, the home secretary, the Telangana DGP and the police commissioner of Ramagundam. Additionally, state government was also asked to ensure a speedy investigation, and to submit a status report on the same by March 1.
"The incident has shaken the faith reposed in our justice system by the people of the state. The government must ensure that those responsible for the killings are nabbed soon, to ensure that the people can trust the legal system in the state once again. There should not be any oversights or mistakes in the investigation," the court said.
Terming the incident as "unfortunate", Chief Justice Hima Kohli told the Telangana Advocate General to submit all evidence, including CCTV footage and videos shot by passers-by, to the HC, and to check the veracity of the same carefully.
The court then adjourned the next hearing on the matter to March 1.
Meanwhile, lawyers across the state held protests against the gruesome killings today, and boycotted work to condemn the murder of the advocate couple. Many groups also took out rallies and staged road blockades. One such demonstration, outside the Rangareddy Court on the Dilsukhnagar-L B Nagar highway, led to a massive traffic jam in the area. This prompted the police to take the advocates involved in the blockade into preventive custody.
The Chairman of the Bar Council of India, Manan Kumar Mishra, also denounced the brutal murder, and demanded that the state government provide "meaningful help and financial assistance" to the family of the two victims, including government jobs to the victims' dependents.