Hyderabad rape-murder case: Telangana court likely to issue order on Cyberabad Police's plea seeking custody of 4 accused

The Shadnagar court in Telangana on Tuesday is likely to issue its order on a petition by the Cyberabad Police seeking 10-day custody of the four accused arrested in connection with the Hyderabad rape and murder of a female veterinary doctor. The Shadnagar police filed the petition in the court on Monday (December 2). Currently, the accused are lodged in Hyderabad's Cherlapally Central jail on judicial remand.

The 26-year-old woman was gang-raped and killed allegedly by two truck drivers and two cleaners near a toll plaza on Outer Ring Road (ORR) at Shamshabad on the outskirts of Hyderabad on November 27 (Wednesday night). They later shifted the body to a place near Shadnagar town and set it afire. The charred body of the victim was found on November 28 (Thursday).

The accused were arrested by the Cyberabad police on Saturday (November 30). The police said that all the four accused have confessed to the crime. 

The accused identified as Mohammad Areef, Jollu Shiva, Jollu Naveen and Chintakunta Chennakeshavulu were sent to 14-day judicial custody by a Ranga Reddy court on Saturday (November 30). Three police officials were also suspended over the alleged negligence in filing the FIR in connection with the crime. "Sub-inspector M Ravi Kumar and Head Constables P Venu Gopal Reddy and A Sathyanarayana Goud were placed under suspension till further orders based on the findings of a detailed inquiry," said Cyberabad Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar. 

People across the country held massive protests on Monday over the brutal incident. Protests demanding justice to the victim was seen in several places including Hyderabad, Delhi, Kolkata, Patna, Jalandhar, Lucknow and other parts of the country. Students of Presidency University, Kolkata held a protest on Monday demanding quick action against the gang-rape and gruesome murder of the young women. Several school students in West Bengal's Burdawan took out candle march over the incident. The students of Hyderabad's Osmania University also joined in the protest and raised their voice by showing posters demanding justice for the alleged rape and murder of a 26-year-old woman.

The Hyderbad case also led to an uproar in Parliament with several MPs condemning the brutal act and demanding strict action against the four accused who were involved in this heinous act. Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said in Lok Sabha that there "cannot be a bigger inhuman act" than the heinous crime and the government was ready to bring the strictest law over brutality against women if there is consensus in the House.

Actor-turned-politician Jaya Bachchan also expressed rage over the incident in the Rajya Sabha and said "I think it's time, whether it's Nirbhaya or Kathua, or whatever happened in Hyderabad...the people now want the government to answer how much these people have received justice" while adding that "the accused in the rape cases should be named and shamed publically. These kind of people should be brought out in public and lynched."

After the reports of the heinous incident, Hyderabad city police on Monday issued an advisory to all the women and girls about the precautionary steps to be taken while travelling.