Telangana encounter: Encounter of accused, which is not warranted, is unfortunate, says former Bombay HC judge Kanade

A former judge of the Bombay High Court Justice VM Kanade has raised questions over the killing of four accused of rape and murder in a police encounter in Telangana on Friday, calling the incident 'unfortunate.'

Speaking to ANI here, Justice Kanade said: "Police encounter of any accused, which is not warranted, is unfortunate. I feel the rule of law should be followed notwithstanding any public outcry."

"Police encounter of any accused, which is not warranted, is unfortunate. Of course, they could have taken better security measures to ensure that these accused don't flee when they are taken to the crime scene," he said.

He said the accused could have been trailed and nabbed, adding that the police should not take the law into their hands.

Justice Kanade said that there must be a judicial inquiry in the encounter to avoid that no wrong signal is sent to the society. "Under Indian law, an accused is presumed to be innocent till he is proved to be guilty and, in this case, the action the police have taken is not yet proved," he said.

The four people, accused of raping and killing a veterinary doctor, were shot dead by police when they tried to escape police custody on way to the crime spot in Telangana on Friday morning.

The accused Mohammed Arif, Naveen, Shiva, and Chennakeshavulu were killed in a police encounter at Chatanpally, Shadnagar today in the wee hours, between 3 am and 6 am.

Police said the veterinarian was brutally gang-raped and killed by the accused before they burnt her body in Telangana's Shamshabad on November 27. Her charred body was recovered on November 28.