Advocate couple killing: Telangana HC seeks report

 Telangana | Written by : IANS Updated: Thu, Feb 18, 2021, 04:15 PM

Hyderabad, Feb 18 (IANS) Taking serious note of the brutal killing of advocate couple in broad daylight, Telangana High Court on Thursday directed the state government to submit status report and ensure thorough investigation in a time-bound manner.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Hima Kohli and Justice B Vijaysen Reddy ordered notices to the state government directing it to submit a report on the gruesome murder of Gattu Vamana Rao and Nagamani in Peddapalli district.

The bench took suo motu cognisance of the incident saying "murders have shaken us alla. It also issued notices to the home secretary, the DGP, Police Commssioner of Ramagundam and Pedapalli station house officer.

Voicing over the manner in which the advocate couple was hacked to death in broad day light, the court directed that a proper investigation be conducted with collection of all evidences. The bench remarked that athe incident has shaken us all from our stupor'.

"The entire State apart from the legal community is looking up to the government to ensure a proper working of the rule of law. We are all governed by the law and nobody can take law into their own hands", Chief Justice Kohli said.

The court made it clear that it does not want to hear about lapses on part of the investigators. It referred to viral videos being circulated about the dying declaration of Rao who spelled out the name of the killer before succumbing to his injuries. It also mentioned about pictures in the media show two state-owned RTC buses at the scene and observed that the passengers must be identified and be produced as witnesses.

Advocate General B S Prasad, assured the Court that nobody would be spared and every attempt would be made to book the culprits, prosecute and punish them.

In a horrific crime caught on camera, an advocate couple practicing law in the Telangana High Court was brutally murdered in broad daylight by unidentified persons in Peddapalli district on Wednesday.

Gattu Vamana Rao and his wife Nagamani, who were returning in a car to Hyderabad after appearing for a case in a local court at Manthani, were waylaid and stabbed indiscriminately by unidentified persons, who came in a SUV, near Kalwacheral in Ramagiri mandal.

Videos which went viral on social media show Vamana Rao (53) and his wife Nagamani (50) being indiscriminately stabbed by two persons on the road. The couple died at a hospital.

Lawyers across Telangana on Thursday took to streets to condemn the killings and demand stringent punishment to the guilty. Advocates in High Court and other courts boycotted the courts to protest against the brutal killings of an advocate couple in state's Peddapali district.

On a call given by Telangana Bar Associations, advocates boycotted the courts, staged protest demonstrations and took out rallies.

Work in courts came to a standstill as advocates stayed away from duties and joined the protests, demanding strong action against the killers and special measures for their protection.