Hyderabad rape accused killed in encounter triggers celebrations and also concern

New Delhi, Dec 06: The encounter killing of the four accused in the gangrape-and-murder of a Hyderabad veterinarian by the police on Friday set off a chorus of appreciation as well as concern among politicians. While some, including Jaya Bachchan saw it as speedy justice for the rape victim, others, such as Maneka Gandhi and Shashi Tharoor said extrajudicial killings are a matter of concern.

Meanwhile, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor sounded a word of caution, saying extra-judicial killings were not acceptable. "Agree in principle. We need to know more, for instance, if the criminals were armed, the police may have been justified in opening fire preemptively. Until details emerge we should not rush to condemn. But extra-judicial killings are otherwise unacceptable in a society of laws," the former Union minister said in a tweet.

BJP MP Maneka Gandhi, the former central minister for women and child development, says what happened in Telangana this morning was "horrible" for the country. The accused, she said, would have been given a death sentence in any case, she said.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said, "The rape cases that have come to light of late, people are in anger whether it is Unnao or Hyderabad, so people are expressing happiness over the encounter. "It is also something to be worried about, the way people have lost their faith in the criminal justice system. Together all the governments will have to take action on how to strengthen criminal justice system."

Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan said,''Der aaye, durust aaye.''

#WATCH Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan on accused in the rape and murder of the woman veterinarian in Telangana killed in an encounter: Der aaye, durust aaye...der aaye, bohot der aaye.. pic.twitter.com/sWj43eNCud

— ANI (@ANI) December 6, 2019

Former Jammu and Kashmir DGP Shesh Paul Vaid congratulated the Telangana police in a tweet, and said they would have been strongly criticised if they had allowed the accused to escape.

National Commission for Women (NCW) chief Rekha Sharma said she was happy that the accused in the Hyderabad gangrape-and-murder case were dead, but added that justice should have been done through proper legal channels.

Badminton champion Saina Nehwal has come out in support of the Hyderabad police.

Taking to Twitter, IPS officer Aslam Khan wrote:

Trigger happy police.Not a good sign. legal procedures can’t be wished away pic.twitter.com/zd2WZNY8RK

— Aslam Khan (@aslam_IPS) December 6, 2019

BJP MP Rajyavardhan Rathore hailed the encounter and also the "leadership" that allowed it. "I congratulate the Hyderabad police and the leadership that allows the police to act like police. Let all know this is the country where good will always prevail over evil (Disclaimer for holier than thou- police acted swiftly in self defence)," he tweeted.

The family of the veterinarian and of Nirbhaya, the 23-year-old paramedic student who died days after being gangraped in Delhi in December 2012, have both come out in support of the policemen involved in the encounter.

Congress leader Sharmishtha Mukherjee raised questions over the killings and demanded an "unbiased inquiry" into the incident. "If the police version is right that they wanted to flee, then you cannot allow those who have committed such heinous crimes to get away," said Mukherjee, daughter of former President Pranab Mukherjee.

"But, on the other hand, there was a lot of public outrage and public pressure on the government. If the government has taken any step under public pressure that could be an extra judicial killing, then that is a very dangerous situation for the country because it will set a precedent," said Mukherjee. The Congress spokesperson also specified that her remarks were in her personal capacity.