Hyderabad rape-murder case: Burn my son if he is guilty, says mother of accused

The mother of one of the accused in the Hyderabad rape and murder case has said that if her son is guilty of the gangrape, murder and burning of a 26-year-old veterinarian, he too should be burned.

Speaking to media, mother of Chennakeshavulu (accused number four) said, “If my son committed the crime, burn him too. My son is nothing to me. Wrong is wrong.”

She added that she did not believe that her son committed the son, but that if he was guilty he should face the same punishment as the other accused.

Her statement comes a day after the victim’s mother called for the accused to be burned alive.

“She [victim’s mother] gave birth to a daughter after nine months. Her daughter becoming the victim of such a crime… what she must be going through,” Chennakeshavulu’s mother said. She said that if she were to defend her son after he commits such a crime, people would hate her for the rest of her life.

The city of Hyderabad has been reeling from the gang rape and murder of the veterinarian, whose charred body was found at Chatanpally bridge near Shadnagar town in Hyderabad’s Rangareddy district.

According to Cyberabad Police Commissioner V.C. Sajjnar, the men were drinking when they noticed her parking her bike near the toll plaza. Locals say it is common for residents there to park near the plaza and catch a cab or a bus to the city, as two-wheelers are not allowed onto the Outer Ring Road. Sajjnar says they plotted to rape and murder her, deflating her scooter’s tyres.

When she returned from work and noticed that her tyre was punctured, she had a premonition that something was wrong and called her sister. She may have taken help after that, with details unclear of how strangers got involved (She messaged her sister saying a stranger had offered to help her. Her phone was then switched off).

She was then gang raped, during which she died of asphyxiation. The men then went out to buy petrol, carrying her body in the truck, and dumping it near a bridge where they set it on fire.

The accused have been sent to judicial custody.

The father of Areef, who is the prime accused, has said that his son should be given any punishment he deserves. According to Areef’s mother, he returned home after the incident saying a girl had died in an accident in which his lorry was involved.

Large protests broke out across the city on Saturday, prompting the police to respond with force when it got violent. Protesters shouted slogans and demanded that the suspects receive the same treatment as the victim.

Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu said the perpetrators should be given the highest punishment and should not be allowed to remain within society. Many celebrities have also spoken up about the case, with Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar calling for stricter laws.

The Ranga Reddy District Bar Association have issued a statement saying that they would not represent any of the four accused unless ordered to do so by the court.