Nation divided on Hyderabad encounter

The killing of all four accused in the brutal gangrape and murder of a young Hyderabad veterinarian by the police in an 'encounter' early today was hailed by many who were demanding justice for the victim.

This included politicians as well as people from various walks of life, who praised the police for the act.

Following the encounter killings of the accused, a few politicians came to the fore saying that they deserved to be shot dead.

Also read: 4 accused of Hyderabad rape-murder case killed in encounter

YSR Congress Party leader Kanumuru Raghu Rama Krishna Raju said that "God has been kind that they were shot dead," and added that it was a good lesson for many.

"They tried to run away and they were killed. No NGO should oppose it and if they do so, they are anti-national," he said.

Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij on Friday justified the killing saying that the accused were "rightly" shot dead.

"Have the Hyderabad gang-rape accused been shot dead?" he tweeted in Hindi.

"Happened (encounter), how it happened but it was 'rightly okayed'," Vij added.

Talking to reporters on the development, Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan in a cryptic statement said, "It's better late than never… It's already too late".

Senior BJP leader Uma Bharti hailed the Telangana Police in a tweet in Hindi: "This is the biggest incident in the 19th year of this century that will guarantee women's safety."

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister and Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel also justified the police action saying that when a criminal tries to escape, cops are left with no other option. "It can be said that justice has been done."

RJD's Rabri Devi said, "What happened in Hyderabad will act as a deterrent against criminals surely. We welcome this. In Bihar as well, cases of crimes against women are increasing. The state government here is lax and doing nothing".

Yoga guru Baba Ramdev praised the police action as "courageous" and said that justice has been delivered.

"Legal questions over it are a different matter, but I am sure the people of the country are at peace now," he told ANI.

Independent MP Navneet Rana also welcomed the encounter killings.

Many BJP leaders, including MP Rajyavardhan Rathore, have tweeted congratulating the Telangana Police.

Locals had earlier in the day showered rose petals on police personnel at the spot where the accused in the rape and murder of the veterinarian were killed.

Neighbours of the woman veterinarian celebrated and offered sweets to police personnel who carried out the encounter. Women were also seen tying rakhi to the cops.

However, opinions have been divided over the encounter killings of the accused.

Taking a rather neutral stand, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that people are happy over the encounter as many similar cases including the Unnao and Hyderabad have been coming to light recently.

He, however, expressed his concern saying that it is also something to be worried about as the people have lost their faith in the criminal justice system. Kejriwal urged that all the governments should unite to take action on how to strengthen the criminal justice system.

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said that one must not rush to condemn until proper details of the encounter emerge.

"Agree in principle. We need to know more, for instance, if the criminals were armed, the police may have been justified in opening fire preemptively. Until details emerge we should not rush to condemn. But extra-judicial killings are otherwise unacceptable in a society of laws," Tharoor tweeted.

Bharatiya Janata Party MP and former union minister Maneka Gandhi questioned the manner in which the encounter was carried out by the Hyderabad police in which four accused were shot dead.

Condemning the encounter, Maneka Gandhi said: "Jo bhi hua hai bohot bhayanak hua hai is desh ke liye (whatever happened is dangerous for the country), you cannot kill people because you want to. You cannot take law in your hands, they (accused) would have been hanged by Court anyhow."

She added: "If the justice will be served through trigger then what is the need of courts and police in this country?"

Lawyer Vrinda Grover denounced the police shooting and said an FIR must be filed. "This is absolutely unacceptable. We don't want this form of trigger happy justice. There must be an independent judicial enquiry into this 'encounter'. There must be accountability of the police," said Grover.

Political analyst Tehseen Poonawalla said one cannot act outside the Constitution.

"In any reconstruction of events, police video record the reconstruction! Will the evidence and video be given to the Courts? Once we legitimize an encounter we demolish the entire justice system. We can't act outside the Constitution."

In a major development, all four accused in the rape and murder of woman veterinarian in Hyderabad were killed in an encounter with the police when they were trying to escape during the recreation of the crime at the same spot where the woman's body was found.

The young veterinarian's rape and murder on November 27 had sent shockwaves across the nation with several women politicians demanding death penalty for rapists.

It is learnt that the four accused had been taken to Chattanpalli by a police team to reconstruct the scene of crime where they allegedly attacked the cops and tried to run away from the spot.

There are also reports that two of the men attacked the police and tried to snatch weapons from them. The police fired back in self-defence at the men resulting in their death.

The 27-year-old woman veterinary doctor was gangraped and murdered near the Tondupally toll plaza in Shamshabad on the outskirts of Hyderabad and her body was dumped and burnt 25 km away at the Chatanpally Bridge in the Ranga Reddy district.

Shadnagar town had witnessed massive protests on November 30, a day after the accused were arrested. The protesters, who had gathered outside the police station, had demanded that the accused be handed over to them so that they could be dealt with.

Police had a tough time controlling the crowd and they had to bring the magistrate to the police station to send the accused to judicial custody for 14 days.

The protesters had pelted stones when the police were shifting the accused to Cherlapally Jail in Hyderabad.

Copyright: The Statesman/ Asia News Network