Encounter killings draw mixed political reactions

The 'encounter' killing of the four men accused in the rape and murder of a woman veterinarian in Hyderabad evoked mixed political reactions on Friday, ranging from praise and circumspection in most cases to condemnation in some.

With many political parties being of the view that the encounter killing may have drawn some public support, even the strong rivals of the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi such as the BJP and the Congress refrained from criticising the police action, which has drawn condemnation from civil right groups, and left it to individual voices within their organisations to offer a mixture of views.

The Left parties, however, took a strong stand with CPI(M)'s Sitaram Yechury asserting that extra-judicial killings cannot be the answer to the serious concerns over the safety of women. The CPI's D Raja said no one can justify encounters in the name of speedy justice.

"How we must secure the lives and dignity of each of our citizens, must be what civilised societies are about. Justice can never be retribution. Why is the tough law put in place on the safety of women after the 2012 Delhi crime not being implemented properly?" CPI(M) general secretary Yechury said.

BJP leaders such as Meenakshi Lekhi and Rajyavardhan Rathore hailed the police action while another party leader Maneka Gandhi slammed the encounter, saying it has set a "horrifying" precedent.

Senior Congress leaders like P Chidambaram and Shashi Tharoor reacted cautiously with the former finance minister saying that the incident should be thoroughly enquired into to find out if it was a genuine encounter.

Another Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury noted that a magisterial inquiry is already on and his party will wait for its outcome.

Chidambaram told reporters, "I don't know the facts of what happened in Hyderabad. As a responsible person all I can say is, it must be thoroughly inquired into to find out if it was a genuine encounter, whether they were trying to flee or it was anything else."
The AAP leader, however, struck a note of caution, saying, "It is also something to be worried about, the way people have lost their faith in the criminal justice system. Together all the governments will have to take action on how to strengthen criminal justice system."