Priyanka Reddy murder: Four arrested accused have confessed
In the latest development in the rape and murder of a 26-year-old veterinary doctor on the outskirts of Hyderabad, the police have said that the accused returned to the scene of the crime to check if the victim's body had burned completely. The 26-year-old was abducted, gang-raped, murdered, then set afire, under a culvert in Chattanpally, Shadnagar, on Wednesday. Here are more details.
The police on Friday arrested four persons, Mohammed Areef (26), Jollu Shiva (20), Jollu Naveen (20) and Chintakunta Chennakeshavulu (20), who have since confessed to the crime. The accused also detailed the events of the night they abducted, raped and murdered the veterinarian. According to Telangana Today, two of the accused returned to check on the body in the wee hours on Thursday.
Reportedly, the four accused had decided to douse the body in fuel and set it on fire to destroy evidence. They set the victim's body ablaze under the culvert around 2-2:30 am on Thursday. Thereafter, they fled the scene. However, Shiva and Naveen, who were riding the victim's scooter, returned to confirm if the body had burned beyond recognition.
After checking on the body, the duo rode the scooter for 11 km and dumped it at Kothur, Cyberabad Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar said. They reunited with Areef and Chennakeshavulu at Aramghar crossroads. Afterwards, Areef went to the city to unload the truck, while the others went home. Areef reportedly reached home at 1 am on Friday and was arrested two hours later.
According to Telangana Today, the parents of the prime accused—previously reported to have been Areef—were shocked after learning about their son's misdeeds. The mother said the other suspects, residents of a neighboring village, often visited their home. The father said he believed him to be a "good man," adding, "If found guilty, action should be initiated against him."
On Wednesday, the four accused plotted to abduct the victim after seeing her park her scooter at the ORR toll plaza at Tondupally. Assuming she would return to collect the scooter, the accused punctured the scooter's tire. When the victim noticed the puncture, the accused pretended to help her and ambushed her. They gang-raped her behind a line of trucks near the toll plaza.
Thereafter, the accused strangulated the victim and transported the body and the scooter in a truck. The body was dumped 25 km away in Chattanpally, Shadnagar, where it was discovered by a milkman on Thursday morning, still ablaze.
