Chittoor killings: HC orders fresh autopsy on 5 victims

The Hyderabad High Court on Friday ordered fresh autopsies for another five victims of the police firing in Seshachalam forests of Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh state on April 7. On Thursady, the court  had ordered fresh post-mortem on victim Sasi Kumar, a Tamil Nadu-based labourer, upon his wife’s application.

The division Bench of Chief Justice Kalyan Jyoti Sengupta and Justice PV Sanjay Kumar passed the direction today after relatives of five more victims (out of the 20 people who were killed) moved the court seeking fresh autopsies.

The “re-post-mortem” was sought with the accusation that the firing incident was a “brutual and planned murder” by the Andhra Pradesh Police Special Task Force (STF) .

On Thursday, the HC had directed the government to conduct fresh autopsy on the body of Sasi Kumar in response to the application filed by his wife Muniyammal. 

Her counsel had sought fresh autopsies for five others too, but the court declined to pass order, as the relatives concerned had not approached the court.

Muniyammal’s lawyer, advocate K Balu, on Friday filed similar applications on behalf of the kin of five deceased. – wives of four victims and another's mother.