Rape, Rage, And An Exchange Of Fire

While the rape and murder of a young veterinarian on the outskirts of Hyderabad sparked fear and outrage across the country, the killings by the police of the four accused have been met with mixed reactions. Abhinay Deshpande pieces together the details of the ghastly incidents

- Abhinay Deshpande

Two weeks after his daughter was brutally raped and murdered in Hyderabad, rage has morphed in to deep sorrow for Disha’s* father. He patiently recalls his 27-year-old daughter’s hobbies. “She loved cooking for us,” he says. “She also liked collecting saplings as she was interested in gardening.” Disha’s family lives in the suburbs of Hyderabad in a middle-class gated community with a small garden. “She was artistic; she used to turn scraps into artefacts. And of course, she loved animals.” Disha was a kind-hearted person who got along well with people, he says.

Disha had always dreamt of becoming a doctor. She opted to become a veterinarian when she was selected to study a course at the P.V. Narasimha Rao Telangana Veterinary University. She landed a government job in Mahabubnagar in 2017, less than a year after she graduated. “She had no life beyond the family and her work,” her father says.

Every day Disha would leave home at 8.30 a.m. on her scooter, a red-coloured Hero Maestro, which had been handed down by her father. She would park it near the Shamshabad Bus Station, 5 km from her home. From there, she would board a bus to reach her office, 37 km away. She would return home by 4.30 p.m. Disha was a creature of habit.

A deflated tyre one dark night