A petition filed by the Cyberabad police in the Shadnagar court on Monday seeking custody of the four accused in the vet’s rape and murder case was posted for Tuesday for orders , even as protests seeking justice continued across Telangana.
The investigators sought custody of the accused for 10 days to reconstruct the crime scene and gather further evidence to connect them with the crime.
The court could not pass any order on the petition on Monday as the Public Prosecutor was not available.
Speaking to The Hindu , a senior officer said: “We are hopeful that the court will grant custody of the accused on Tuesday, as we have to connect the dots in the case.”
Telangana Director General of Police M. Mahender Reddy, who reviewed the progress of the case on Sunday night, instructed police officials to ensure time-bound completion of the investigation.
Fast track court
Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday directed that a fast track court be set up for speedy trial in the case.
Meanwhile, protests against the heinous crime continued in the city and other parts of Telangana on Monday with students, lawyers and others taking out rallies and holding demonstrations demanding death penalty for the four accused.
Raising slogans such as “We want justice” and holding placards that read “Hang the rapists”, the protesters condemned the incident.
Advocates under the banner of the Telangana Advocates Joint Action Committee also held protests and observed a candlelight vigil near the High Court here.
Protests were also held by school students and different student groups and others at various places in the State, demanding capital punishment for the accused.
The charred body of the woman, working as an assistant veterinarian at a State-run hospital, was found under a culvert at Shadnagar on November 28 morning, a day after the 26-year-old went missing.
Four men, all lorry workers, aged between 20 and 24, were arrested on November 29 on charges of raping and killing the woman by smothering her and later burning the body.
In solitary confinement
They were sent to judicial custody for 14 days on Saturday. The four, who faced violent protests while being taken to the prison, are now kept in solitary confinement at the Cherlapally prison in the city.
The Mahabubnagar district court Bar Association and the Ranga Reddy Bar Association have decided not to represent the accused citing “moral and social responsibility” in view of the “heinous crime committed by the accused.”
(With PTI inputs)
