Hyderabad: The rape and murder of a 26-year-old veterinarian near Hyderabad has sent shockwaves across the nation. Meanwhile, her distraught family says they had to go from “one police station to another” as the cops could not decide if the case falls in their jurisdiction.
This has further angered netizens who demanded immediate suspension of the cops for the delay. The family has a sought quick trial in the murder case, which has sent shockwaves across the nation, and has also demanded that the four accused, who were taken in custody on Friday, should not be given legal representation.
The 26-year-old veterinarian, who the cops suspect was raped before she was murdered, had gone missing on Wednesday night after she left from work and was headed home. Investigations revealed that on her way back, she stopped at a toll booth, parked her bike after a tyre was punctured and took a cab to visit a dermatologist. Her sister last spoke to her at around 9:15. The family set out on a search for the 26-year-old at around 10 pm after they discovered that her phone was switched off.
“We thought her phone was off because it had no battery,” the woman’s father told. “After 10 pm, we went looking for her at the toll booth. We then decided to go to the cops but we went from one police station to another for more than half an hour. They couldn’t decide if the case falls in their jurisdiction,” he added.
“I sought help of two constables. At around 3 am, I eventually went on a lookout myself,” he added.
The veterinarian’s sister was the last one to speak to her at about 9:15 pm for about six minutes before she went missing. Recalling the last conversation, her sister said: “When she called up, I asked her if there was an accident as she told me that she was scared. She narrated how the men took her bike, came back and told her repair shop was closed. She told them ‘I can go’, but they insisted on helping and said: ‘No it’s ok’. When I called up again after 15 minutes, her phone was off.”
“I didn’t panic because I assumed her phone didn’t have battery. After 10 pm, when my mother called me, she was crying. I was at work and I left in an office vehicle with a colleague looking for my sister at the toll plaza,” she further said.
On Thursday morning, the veterinarian’s clothes, handbag, footwear and a liquor bottle were found by the police near the toll booth where she had parked her bike. Her body was found with 70 per cent burns under a bridge, in neighouring Ranga Reddy district, 30 km from the toll booth.
The body was identified by her family with the help of a locket of Lord Ganesh that she was wearing. It has been handed over to her family after post-mortem.
