The police probe into the brutal gang-rape and murder of a young veterinarian gathered momentum on Thursday with the investigating teams collecting more clues from the scenes of the crime. Different teams of Hyderabad police, probing the horrific crime, carried out further searches both at the place where the victim was raped and also where her body was set ablaze.
The investigation gathered pace a day after a court sent the four accused to judicial custody for seven days and the Telangana government set up a fast-track court for speedy trial.
It was not clear if the police were questioning the accused in Cherlapally Jail or had shifted them to another location. Police were maintaining utmost secrecy, fearing law and order problem due to possible protest by people demanding instant capital punishment to the accused.
Police were taking all precautions in view of the massive public protest at Shadnagar on November 30 when the magistrate had to be brought to the police station to send the accused into judicial custody.
Later, some people had also reached near high-security Cherlapally Jail on the outskirts of Hyderabad to stage a protest, demanding death to the accused.
Cyberabad Police Commissioner V.C. Sajjanar is supervising the investigation. The investigators were making all efforts to build a strong case and present all the evidence before the fast-track court for early conviction.
At least four teams under the leadership of Deputy Commissioner of Police Prakash Reddy are probing the gruesome crime. Each team is headed by a senior official and two of them are women.
Based on the information gathered from accused, the teams on Thursday thoroughly searched the scenes of the crime to collect more evidence.
Investigators scanned the area close to Tondupally toll gate on Outer Ring Road (ORR) on the outskirts of Hyderabad where the victim was gang-raped on the night of November 27. Police said to have recovered the victim's mobile phone.
Another group of officials gathered more clues from Chatanpally near Shadnagar town, where the body was set ablaze. The investigators once again checked the truck used by the accused to shift the body from ORR to Shadnagar.
In additional to technical evidence gathered in the form of CCTV footage on the ORR, the police are looking for forensic evidence against the accused.
The victim was trapped by four truck drivers and cleaners by deflating one of the tyres of her scooty when she had reached the toll gate to pick up her parked vehicle to return home. They committed the rape and murder and carried the body in the truck 28 km away to a place near Shadnagar town.
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