Hyderabad gangrape, murder rock nation

Hyderabad: A large crowd gathered at the Shadnagar police station on Saturday and demanded that the four persons accused of the gang-rape and murder of GHMC assistant veterinary surgeon Dr P. Priyanka Reddy be handed to them to face instant justice.

The mob, including women and school children from nearby villages, began forming from the morning and took the police personnel by surprise.

The police put up barricades and, at one time, tied the gates with handcuffs to prevent the protesters from forcing their way in.

With the mob pelting stones and footwear, the magistrate came to the police station and remanded the four accused persons to 14 days of judicial custody.

The accused — Mohammed alias Areef, J. Shiva, J. Naveen and C. Chennakeshavulu — were later taken to the Cherlapalli Central Prison.

Given that the protesters comprised women and school students, the police could not take strong action to disperse them. With the number of protesters growing, more police personnel were brought in.

Raising slogans of “we want justice” and “hang them immediately”, the gathering of youngsters walked towards the main gate by pushing past the barricades.

Some of them even tried to climb the gate but were dissuaded.

The crowd sat in front of the police station demanding that the accused be hanged or handed over to the public who would kill them. They said the accused were being fed and provided medical care by the police. Instead, the accused deserved to be hanged in public, they said.

One angry girl said, “Leave them to us for five minutes. We will torture them to death. Girls and women want safety. Such people should be punished severely. It will make those who want to do something to women think again.”