Truck driver Mohammed Pasha, Naveen, Kesavulu, and Shiva arrested for raping and brutally killing Hyderabad doctor

Police in Telangana have arrested four accused in connection with the gruesome murder of a 27-year-old veterinary doctor on Wednesday night. The doctor was also allegedly raped before being set ablaze by her rapists and killers. The four arrested have been identified as one Mohammed Pasha (truck driver) and his assistants Naveen, Kesavulu and Shiva. But Hindutva troll army have been quick to give it a communal colour by singling out the religious background of one of the accused and trended hashtag #Balatkari_Mohammed_Nikala on Twitter.

According to reports, the charred body of the victim was found from the outskirts of Hyderabad on the Hyderabad-Bengaluru national highway after some passers-by alerted the cops. Her family members, who had already filed a missing report after she did not return home on Wednesday night later identified her body. The victim worked at a state-run hospital as an assistant veterinarian.

Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar said in a statement the incident had taken place under the jurisdiction of Cyberabad Commissionerate. Kumar also said that victims must dial 100 if they are ever placed in such distressful situation.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tweeted, “I’m shocked to hear about the brutal rape & murder of #DrPriyankaReddy in Hyderabad. How anyone could subject another human being to such terrible, unprovoked violence is beyond imagination. My thoughts & prayers are with the victim’s family at this time of immense grief.”

Actor Akshay Kumar wrote on Twitter, “Whether it is #PriyankaReddy in Hyderabad, #Roja in Tamil Nadu or the law student gangraped in Ranchi,we seem to be losing it as a society. It has been 7 yrs to the gut-wrenching #Nirbhaya case & our moral fabric continues to be in pieces.We need stricter laws.This needs to STOP!”

Telangana Home Minister Mohammed Mahmood Ali courted controversy by saying that the victim ought to have called the police and not her sister during her moments of distress. He was quoted by news agency ANI, “We are saddened by the incident, police is alert and controlling crime. It is unfortunate that she called her sister and not ‘100’, had she called ‘100’ she could have been saved.”