Hyderabad veterinary doctor gangrape-murder accused killed in police encounter

New Delhi: All the four accused in the gangrape and murder of a veterinary doctor in Hyderabad were killed in a police encounter on Friday morning. Confirming the development, VC Sajjanar, Cyberabad Police Commissioner, said, "The accused were killed in a police encounter at Chatanpally, Shadnagar today in the wee hours, between 3 am and 6 am."

The encounter happened at the crime scene in Shadnagar, around 60 km from Hyderabad. The police had taken the accused - Mohammed, Jollu Shiva, Jollu Naveen and Chintakunta Chennakeshavulu - for re-construction of events as part of the investigation. However, the four of them tried to escape from the spot and also attacked the police. They tried to snatch weapons from the officials too, after which, the police, in self-defence, opened fire on them. 

"The Cyberabad Police had brought the accused persons to the crime spot for re-construction of the sequence of events. The accused snatched weapon and fired on police. In self-defence, the police fired back, in which the accused were killed," DCP Shamshabad Prakash Reddy said.

The veterinarian, in her mid-20s, was allegedly gangraped and charred to death by two truck drivers and two cleaners near a toll plaza on Outer Ring Road (ORR) in Shamshabad on the night of November 27. The charred body of the victim was found on November 28. 

A day later, the Cyberabad Police arrested the four accused, who allegedly trapped the victim by deflating a tyre of a scooty parked near the toll plaza.

The accused hailed from Narayanpet district of Telangana.

The gruesome rape and murder had triggered nation-wide rage with demands for immediate death penalty to the perpetrators. People across the country held massive protests demanding justice to the victim. 

Amid the massive outrage, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao instructed the setting up of a fast track court to deal with the case and had promised stringent punishment for the perpetrators of the ghastly crime.

"The Chief Minister has instructed officials that the accused of the woman veterinary doctor's ghastly murder should be inquired on a fast track basis and the culprits should be given stringent punishment. The Chief Minister also decided to set up a fast track court to deal with the case," an official release issued from the office of the Telangana CM said. It added that the "verdict should come quickly and the Chief Minister announced that the government would extend all necessary help and support to the members of the victim's family."

Last week, three cops were suspended over alleged negligence in filing the FIR in connection with the rape and murder of the veterinarian.