AIIMS team performs re-postmortem on 4 accused in vet rape &

The second autopsy on the four slain accused in the brutal rape and murder of a woman veterinarian by a team of forensic experts of AIIMS, Delhi, is underway on Monday at a hospital here, a top official said.

A separate cabin had been arranged at the Gandhi Hospital for the team from the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) for the autopsy and the entire process is being videographed, Superintendent of the state-run facility Dr PShravan Kumarsaid.

The Telangana High Court had on Saturday ordered the re- postmortem of the four, who were killed in an alleged encounter with police near here on December 6.

The first postmortem was conducted on December 6 itself at a government hospital in Mahabubnagar from where the bodies were subsequently shifted to the Gandhi Hospital.

Before starting the second autopsy, the AIIMS team interacted with the kin of the deceased men and recorded their statements, Kumar said.

The team first wanted to talk to the kin of the deceased. So accordingly we arranged an interaction with them. The team recorded their statements. The relatives informed the team that they would take the bodies once the process is completed, he said.

On its request, the team was provided a handicam (portable video camera) and a computer, Kumar added.

The police have made elaborate security arrangements near the hospital.

The bodies of the four accused have been preserved in the Gandhi Hospital as per the earlier orders of the high court after somePILs were filed alleging that the encounter was fake and amounted to extra-judicial killing.

The four accused were arrested on November 29 for allegedly raping and killing the woman veterinarian and burning her body. The case triggered widespread protests across the country.

Police shot the four dead in the 'encounter' after the latter allegedly attacked them at Chattanpalli where they were taken for reconstruction of the crime scene for investigation.