The Supreme Court Tuesday granted six more months to the Inquiry Commission to submit its report on the police encounter killings of all four accused in the case of Hyderabad veterinarian’s murder and rape, which sparked protests across the country in 2019.

The apex court had set up a three-member inquiry panel in December 2019 to look into the matter and file its report in six months. However, the panel had requested for additional six months in July 2020 and then again in January, this year, citing unavoidable reasons due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Why is this matter going on and on? This can be done in 3-4 months,” the bench headed by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana asked on Tuesday while hearing Advocate K Parameshwar, appearing for the petitioner. The bench also referred to a similar panel, set up to inquire into the encounter killing of a gangster Vikas Dubey in Uttar Pradesh, and said that they had already filed the report.

To which, the counsel responded that they had a list of 130 witnesses and could not complete the proceedings due to Covid-19.In pics |Hyderabad vet rape-murder case sparks protests across the country

The inquiry panel is headed by former apex court judge Justice (retd) V S Sirpurkar and includes former Bombay High Court judge Rekha Sondur Baldota and ex-CBI director D R Karthikeyan.

The panel was constituted to look into the police encounter that gunned down all four accused — Mohammed Arif, Chintakunta Chennakeshavulu, Jolu Shiva, and Jollu Naveen — for allegedly gangraping and killing the vet, whose burnt body was recovered by the police on November 28, 2019.What happened? |Hyderabad vet rape-murder case: A timeline since November 27 to ‘encounter’

According to the police, the four were taken to the Chattapally — where the incident took place on November 27 — to recreate the crime scene during which they allegedly tried to escape after attacking the police team. In self-defence, the police shot them dead, an official had told The Indian Express.