Vijayawada, February 28 – Authorities handed over the remains of Ayesha Meera, a 17-year-old student who was raped and murdered in 2007, to her parents on Friday.
The remains, which were exhumed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in 2019 for a re-postmortem, were received by Shamshad Begum and Iqbal Basha at a court in Vijayawada.
Last week, the court had directed that Ayesha Meera’s remains be handed over to her family for performing the last rites.
The remains will be buried in Tenali town later in the day.
Several women activists from various organizations and the committee for justice accompanied Shamshad Begum and her husband to show their support. They were carrying placards seeking justice for Ayesha.
After receiving the remains, they attempted to organize a protest. However, the police informed them that there was no permission for the protest.
Shamshad Begum told the media that, despite their 19-year struggle, they had not received justice. She said she would pray for the harshest punishment for those who killed their innocent daughter.
She alleged that all the evidence in the case had been tampered with and vowed to continue their fight until the perpetrators are brought to justice. They plan to meet Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.
The sensational rape and murder case could not be solved by the police or later by the CBI.
The court last week accepted the report submitted by the CBI in June last year, declaring the investigation closed. The Central agency submitted that no legally admissible evidence was found to proceed against any individual.
The court observed that there was no material warranting further investigation. The court also noted that the victim’s parents expressed dissatisfaction with the CBI’s final report and conveyed their inability to bear further legal expenses.
Ayesha, a B Pharmacy student, was found murdered in the bathroom of a private ladies’ hostel at Ibrahimpatnam near Vijayawada on the morning of December 27, 2007. The body was found in a pool of blood, with her legs and hands tied to a water tap and the iron rod, with her own dress.
Police had rounded up several suspects, including hostel employees. Nine months later, a youth named Satyam Babu was arrested.
The women’s sessions court, which held a hearing in the case, declared him guilty and sentenced him to life imprisonment in 2010. However, in 2017, the High Court acquitted him, citing a lack of evidence.
Following public interest litigations and a petition by her parents, the High Court ordered a CBI investigation in 2018.
The CBI exhumed the body in 2019 for a re-postmortem.
