New Delhi: 18 years after rape-murder, kin given daughter's skeletal remains as CBI probe hits the wall
More than 18 years after the brutal rape and murder of 17-year-old girl shook Andhra Pradesh, the long legal battle on Friday ended without justice for her family, as her parents were handed a bag containing their daughter’s skeletal remains inside a Vijayawada court.
At the special CBI court, the victim’s 62-year-old father and her 60-year-old mother stood silently as court officials handed over a bag containing what was left of their daughter’s mortal remains. Outside the court, the mother told reporters that their faith in the justice system has been completely shattered.
“After 18 long years of struggle, this is what we have got. Our hopes have died. Even the last flicker of belief that justice would be served has evaporated. We were forced to fight in court even to retrieve parts of our daughter’s body,” she said.
The victim, a first-year B. Pharm student, was found murdered in her hostel room in Vijayawada on December 27, 2007. The autopsy report later confirmed that she was raped.
In 2008, police arrested Pidathala Satyam Babu for the rape and murder, and he was later sentenced to life in 2010. Seven years later, he was acquitted by the Andhra Pradesh HC, which directed the police to launch a fresh investigation. The HC then handed over the case to the CBI in November 2018. A year later, the agency exhumed the victim’s body to conduct another post-mortem examination.
Earlier this month, CBI submitted a closure report in the case, stating lack of evidence and that no grounds existed to proceed further. On February 21, the court of judge Annapurna issued an order closing the case after examining the final report, people familiar with the matter said.
After receiving their daughter’s body on Friday, the parents buried her remains at the Chenchupet burial grounds.
Srinivasa Rao is Senior Assistant Editor based out of Hyderabad covering developments in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana . He has over three decades of reporting experience.
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