Massive Protests Break Out In India After Woman Gang Raped And Burned To Death

A day after the reports about the Hyderabad rape and murder case made headlines, massive protests erupted in the state on Saturday with protesters clashing with the police in many cases. 

The 26-year-old veterinarian was raped, strangled and then her body was burnt. Her charred body was found on the outskirts of Hyderabad on Wednesday night. 

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Four people have been arrested.

PTI reported that angry protesters hurled stones at the police personnel, who escorted the four accused to jail from a police station in the Telangana capital, and demanded that the culprits be handed over to them.

The accused were sent to judicial custody for 14 days by the executive magistrate who passed the order at the Shadnagar police station, where they were lodged, as they could not be produced in court due to the presence of the large number of protesters in front of the police station.

Stones were hurled at a police vehicle as the accused were being taken to the jail in Hyderabad, and police used mild force to control the crowd.

NDTV reported  that women’s groups and members of the woman’s family have demanded death sentence for the accused in the incident and has also alleged that the Telangana police showed negligence in handling the case. 

The Shamshabad police station was also attacked, reports suggest. 

The News Minute reported locals stormed the police station where the accused were held and demanded that they be killed in an “encounter”. 

The road in front of the police station was blocked with people raising “we want justice slogans”. 

A PTI report said that the police had to use “mild force” to deal with the protesters. 

The woman is said to have been raped when was stranded at night because of a flat tire at the Tondupally toll gate. The woman, reports say, used the park her scooter there and take a cab to her clinic. 

The News Minute report said that the accused identified as Mohammed Areef, Jollu Shiva, Jollu Naveen  and Chintakunta Chennakeshavulu may have plotted the rape and murder when they noticed the woman parking her scooter at the toll gate at 6 pm on Tuesday.

The report said that they then deflated the tire. When the woman returned they approached her for help and forcibly took her to the compound nearby where she was raped and killed. 

Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy and a number of other leaders called on members of the deceased woman’s family.

Condemning the incident, both said the government would ensure that the culprits get tough punishment through expeditious investigation and trial.

Meanwhile, the veterinarian’s family told the National Commission for Women on Saturday that Hyderabad Police wasted precious time which could have been used to save her life.

NCW chief Rekha Sharma said a team of the women’s panel visited the family who told them that the police played a “negative role” in the case.

The family members also said the police even alleged she had eloped with someone, Sharma said.

(With PTI inputs)