What’s Next for Ayesha Meera's Case? Court Orders CBI to Return Remains to Family
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Vijayawada, Feb 20 (NationPress) After almost nineteen years since the tragic rape and murder of B Pharmacy student Ayesha Meera in Vijayawada, a CBI Court has ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to return her remains to her family for the final rites.
The court has mandated that the last rites take place according to religious customs in Tenali on February 27. It instructed the government to ensure all necessary arrangements and security for this solemn event.
Furthermore, the court has stipulated that the entire ceremony be documented on video in the presence of government officials.
The court accepted the final investigative report submitted by the CBI, which included two postmortem examinations conducted on the victim’s remains.
The CBI had deposited Ayesha's remains with the court after consulting forensic experts from the government-operated Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad.
Ayesha’s parents, Shamshad Begum and Syed Iqbal, filed a petition requesting the return of their daughter’s remains, which led the court to issue directives to the CBI.
The CBI concluded its investigation in June, officially declaring the case closed.
Ayesha, aged 17, was discovered dead in her hostel bathroom on December 27, 2007, at Ibrahimpatnam near Vijayawada. Nine months later, the police apprehended Pidathala Satyam Babu.
The women's sessions court, which heard the case, found him guilty and sentenced him to life imprisonment in 2010. However, he was acquitted by the high court in 2017 due to insufficient evidence after he appealed the verdict.
Following public interest litigations and a petition from her parents, the court assigned the investigation to the CBI in 2018.
Despite this, the murder mystery has lingered unsolved for nearly 19 years since the horrific crime.