Indian athletes react as 4 accused in Hyderabad rape case shot dead

All four accused in the rape and murder case of a 25-year old veterinarian doctor were shot dead by the Telangana Police in an encounter around 3.30am on Friday morning. The accused were taken to the site of the offence for reconstruction of the crime scene, where the four had set Priyanka Reddy on fire after raping her.

The ghastly incident led to an out pour on Twitter, with women demanding justice and urging the lawmakers to make the roads safer for them. In Friday morning's incident, the accused tried to snatch weapons from the police and tried to escape, following which the police retaliated, leading to their deaths. All four were lorry workers, aged between 20 and 24.

The Indian sporting fraternity took to Twitter and gave their verdict on the encounter. While Saina Nehwal applauded the great work done by the Telangana Police, another badminton star Jwala Gutta questioned whether this would deter future rapists from carrying out such heinous crimes.

"Great work #hyderabadpolice ..we salute u ?" stated badminton ace Nehwal.

"Will this stop the future rapists?? And an important question Will every rapist be treated the same way...irrespective of their social standing?!", was Gutta's concern.

Wrestlers Geeta Phogat and Yogeshwar Dutt too sent their salute to the policemen, with Dutt even stating that the encounter was a victory of the law-keepers over the devils who are out to spread dirt in society. Former Sports Minister and silver medalist at the 2004 Athens Olympics, Rajyavardhan Rathore too mentioned the leadership of the policemen, and hoped that India remains a country where good always triumphs over evil.

V.C. Sajjanar, the top cop who handled the Hyderabad case, had led a similar encounter in 2008 at Warangal, when he had gunned down three men accused of throwing acid on two women engineering students.