HYDERABAD: The Telangana police are in a peculiar situation. A day after they had an ‘encounter’ and killed the four accused in the Hyderabad doctor's rape-and-murder case, people have started demanding more such operations to punish rapists.
As sections of the public praised the cops for their act on Friday, Saturday witnessed people holding rallies and dharnas, demanding police “encounters” to deliver “instant justice” in the other recent cases of rape and murder.
These cases included that of a teen at Hanmakonda in Warangal (Urban) district, three minors in Hajipur of Yadadri district, and that of a Dalit woman in Kumuram Bheem Asifabad district. The crime in the last case was committed just two days before the incident involving the doctor.
In the above-mentioned cases, the police have arrested the accused, and the trial has begun in the Hajipur serial rape and murder cases. The two other cases are in the initial stages of investigation.
Comparing the progress in these cases with that in the doctor's case, people from these three districts are angry that the police only “punished” the accused in the doctor's case. They accused the cops of being partial, and discriminating based on the victim’s caste and economic background.
In these three cases, the victims belonged to low-income groups and marginalised communities. The victim, meanwhile, was well educated and from an upper caste.
The condolences pouring in from celebrities and politicians, VIP visits to the victim’s family, and the decision to hear her case in a fast-track court have angered people and instigated them to demand “encounters” in other cases as well.
‘Police act based on caste’
Protesters said the cops were partial and discriminated based on caste and background. Victims from low-income groups and marginalised communities did not get justice, they alleged