Hyderabad, Apr 1 (Deccan Chronicle): In a sensational verdict, the Hyderabad High Court on Friday acquitted Pidathala Satyam Babu for the rape and murder of B. Pharmacy student Ayesha Meera 11 years ago, and ordered police to pay Rs 1 lakh in costs to the defendant for lapses in the probe and arresting an innocent man.

Mr Babu, who is physically handicapped, was convicted for life in 2010 and has been in prison for eight years. A division bench comprising Justice C.V. Nagarjuna Reddy and Justice M.S.K. Jaiswal was hearing an appeal by P. Satyam Babu challenging the life sentence awarded to him by the Women’s Special Sessions Court in Vijayawada on September 29, 2010.

Pointing out that the prosecution has failed to produce evidence to prove that the appellant raped the victim and then killed her, the bench noted that the police alone created the story of rape as there was not enough evidence to prove that the victim was raped.

The bench felt that the police brought in the theory of rape to protect the real culprits. The bench ordered immediate release of the appellant.

The bench found fault with the trial court for believing in the police without looking into the lapses in the investigation. The bench observed that though the appellant had been acquitted of certain offences by the courts, the investigation team projected him as a notorious criminal.

High Court points out anomalies

The bench made it clear that the evidence was not sufficient for it to endorse the appellant’s argument that the police had booked him to protect a political family.

The bench said that as it had no power to order compensation to the appellant for torture by the police, and that they are leaving it open to the appellant to sue the government for foisting the case on him. Recalling the constitution of the Apex Committee by the AP government on February 14, 2017 to review lapses in investigations, the bench said that this was a fit case for the panel.

The bench pointed to anomalies like the police claim that the appellant scaled an eight-foot wall twice with a pedestal in one hand to kill the victim who was sleeping on the second floor of the hostel. “It is unbelievable,” the bench observed, that a man weighing 50 kg and physically challenged, can scale an eight-foot wall with a single hand. The bench said it cannot accept the theory that the appellant entered the room without disturbing the victim’s roommates, committed rape and murder, dragged the body to the toilet and wrote on her body.