Falsely accused Andhra youth freed after 8 years

Vijayawada: After spending eight years in jail for a crime which he never committed, an Andhra Pradesh youth finally walked free on Sunday.

P. Satyam Babu was released from Rajahmundry Central Prison, two days after the Hyderabad High Court acquitted him in the case of rape and murder of a student.

The court directed the Andhra Pradesh government to pay Rs 1 lakh compensation to Satyam Babu and ordered action against the police officers who investigated the case.

The Mahila Sessions Court in Vijayawada on September 30, 2010, had sentenced Satyam Babu to life imprisonment for the rape and murder of Ayesha Meera.

The 19-year-old Bachelor of Pharmacy student was raped and brutally murdered in a private women's hostel in Ibrahimpatnam near Vijayawada on December 27, 2007.

The police claimed a breakthrough when Satyam Babu was arrested in a cellphone robbery case on August 17, 2008. Police said he confessed to the murder too.

When he finally walked out of jail on Sunday, Satyam Babu was overcome by emotions on seeing her mother Mariyamma.

He thanked Ayesha's parents for standing by him and demanded that justice should be done by punishing the real culprits.

Ayesha's parents alleged that the poor Dalit youth was made a scapegoat to save the real culprits.

Shamshad Begam and Iqbal Basha alleged that relatives of then state Minister Koneru Ranga Rao were involved in the rape and murder and to mislead the investigations the police pinned the rape and murder on Satyam Babu and arrested him.