Ayesha Miran (Urdu:عائشہ میراں) rape case was a sensational rape case in the Vijayawada, India which captured the intense media attention in the country in 2007.
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The Incident
A 19-year-old Pharmacy student named Ayesha Miran was raped and murdered brutally by 22-year-old P. Satyam Babu in a hostel at Vijayawada. Her body with stab injuries was found in the bathroom on Dec 27, 2007. A letter dropped by the 'murderer' stated that the girl was raped and murdered for refusing his request for 'love'.
Scepticism of Police Claims
Relatives of P. Satyam Babu and Human Rights activists alleged that the police was trying to eliminate him in an effort to shield the real culprits in the case. They pointed out that Babu can't even walk as he suffered from a neurological disorder. The doctors at Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) confirmed that he could hardly walk. Even the victim's parents also rejected the police claim that Babu murdered her and alleged that police were trying to save some politically influential people.
Arrest, Escape and Re-arrest of the accused
P. Satyam Babu was first arrested in August 2008. However, he exhibited his agility soon after his arrest by escaping from police custody at Suryapet in Nalgonda district in the middle of the arrest night when the policemen escorting him got down at a hotel for food. Police were taking the accused to Vijayawada after treatment at a hospital in Hyderabad. The Vijayawada Police suspended 11 policemen, including a sub-inspector, two head constables and eight constables, who were escorting the accused on the charges of negligence. However, despite this effort to escape, Babu was arrested in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh within hours of the event.
Judicial Judgement
The Vijayawada women's special sessions court awarded 14 years jail to P. Satyam Babu in the case under section 302 of IPC for murder and 10 years of rigorous imprisonment under section 376 of IPC for rape. The court ruled that both the jail terms would run concurrently. In addition, the court ordered Satyam Babu to pay a fine of Rs 1,000 or undergo six months jail.