Rape, murder of vet: Court to hear cops petition on Dec 3

: A court at Shadnagar near here on Monday posted for Tuesday a petition filed by Cyberabad police seeking 10-day custody of the four people arrested for raping and murdering a 25-year-old woman veterinarian last week.

Also, the court directed issuance of notices to the accused in this regard after the Shadnagar Bar Association had decided that it would not represent any of the four accused and not offer any legal service to them.

The police probing the gang-rape and murder of the woman on Monday filed the custody petition in the court seeking its permission for custodial interrogation as part of further investigation in the case, a senior police official told PTI.

The incident triggered nation-wide outrage and protests held at several places demanding stern punishment to the culprits.

Last week, the Mahabubnagar district court Bar Association and also the Ranga Reddy Bar Association decided not to represent the four accused.

They had said the decision was taken as "a moral and social responsibility" in view of the "heinous crime committed by the accused".

The charred body of the woman, working as an assistant veterinarian at a state-run hospital, was found dumped under a culvert at Shadnagar on November 28 morning, a day after she went missing.

The four men, all lorry workers, aged between 20 and 24, were arrested on November 29 on charges of raping and killing the woman by smothering her and later burning the body. They have been sent to judicial custody for 14 days on Saturday.

The four, who faced violent protests while being taken to the prison, are now kept in solitary confinement at Cherlapally Prison in the city.