All four accused in Telangana veterinarian's rape killed in encounter

Hyderabad: All four accused in the rape and murder of a Telangana veterinarian have been killed in an encounter on Friday.

The encounter took place when the four men tried to escape while being taken to the site of murder and rape for evidence collection, Cyberabad Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar told PTI.

"They fired upon the police team and we retaliated in self-defence. Two of our men are also injured in the incident," PTI reported, quoting police sources.

The accused allegedly snatched weapons from the police personnel and tried to escape from the Chatanpally near Shadnagar, about 50 km from Hyderabad.

The four accused killed in the encounter were identified as: truck drivers Mohammed Arif (26) and Chintakunta Chennakeshavulu (20), and cleaners Jollu Shiva (20) and Jollu Naveen (20). All hailed from the Narayanpet district of Telangana.

The encounter occured even as amidst the massive protests have been continuing in Telangana and elsewhere against the rape and murder of veterinarian.

The state government had on Wednesday issued an order, setting up a special court (fast track) to try the case which triggered a national outrage with protests continuing across the country.

Telangana Municipal Administration Minister K T Rama Rao on Thursday had said that though he understood the sentiments of some countrymen who are seeking immediate punishment to the culprits in the incident, he cannot take such a stand being in the government, as it is not the way the system works.

Police had remained tight-lipped on the progress of investigation into the incident.

The charred body of the 25-year old woman veterinarian was found under a culvert at Shadnagar near here on the morning of November 28 a day after she went missing.

The four men, all truck drivers, aged between 20 and 24, were arrested on November 29. On noticing the woman park her scooter near the toll both, they punctured the scooter's tyre. Pretending to offer help, they allegedly gang-raped her and burnt her body to destroy evidence.

The four were in under judicial custody and lodged in high security cells in Cherlapally Central Prison after the arrest.

(With inputs from PTI.)