She should have called police: Telangana minister on woman doctor's murder

A day after the charred body of a woman veterinarian found on the outskirts of Hyderabad, a Telangana minister made a seemingly insensitive comment on Friday, saying the victim could have been rescued if she had called the police helpline number. The 27-year-old doctor had called her sister, just before she was allegedly abducted, and told her about a few men around her behaving suspiciously. 

"We are saddened by the incident, the police is alert and controlling crime. Though she was an educated woman, she called her sister and not '100'. Had she called '100', she could have been saved," Telangana Home Minister Mohd Mahmood Ali told news agency ANI.

As his comments stirred up a controversy, Ali said the victim was like his daughter. “All I meant was that if someone would have dialed 100, then probably this incident could have been averted. We have asked the police to take immediate action," he said.

Meanwhile, Hyderabad police on Friday arrested a lorry driver and cleaner in connection with the incident. The case was reported in Shadnagar police station.

According to media reports, the woman, an assistant veterinarian at a state-run hospital, was on her way home late on Wednesday when she was allegedly abducted, gangraped and burnt alive by unidentified persons. Her body was found on Thursday near a culvert on the Hyderabad-Bengaluru national highway, which is around 25 km from a toll plaza where she was last seen, police said.

The National Commission for Women has constituted an inquiry committee to look into the incident. NCW Chairperson Rekha Sharma said in a tweet that the women's panel  would not "leave any stone unturned" till the perpetrators get the punishment they deserve.