Veterinary Doctor Priyanka Reddy’s Rape and Murder case has taken aback whole nation once again. The scars from Nirbhaya and Kathua’s 8 year old’s rape and murder didn’t even fade away, that we are smeared with the blood of another woman who fell prey to the sexual predators on the fateful night of 27th November 2019.
Her charred body was found on the outskirts of Hyderbad, thurdsay morning after she went missing the night before.
Here’s all that we need to know
Reddy returned home on Wednesday and left for another clinic in Gachibowlia. She had parked her red Hero Maestro scooter at the ORR toll plaza at Tondupally and took a shared cab to the clinic. Later, she returned to the toll plaza to get her scooter and was told by strangers that she had a flat tyre and won’t be able to move ahead.
At 9:22 PM, Reddy called her sister, P Bhavya, saying she was scared. In the call that lasted for six minutes 45 seconds, Priyanka was heard speaking normally, except when she said that she was feeling scared looking at the people who came to her aid.Bhavya advised her to wait at the toll-plaza but Priyanka refused saying it would be awkward to stand at the toll-plaza.To which, Bhavya suggested to leave the scooter at the spot and come back home.
“I started my bike, but they started shouting from behind saying madam your tyre is flat and you cannot go ahead. Though I thought that I can get it repaired at the bus stand, they did not allow me to go ahead. They made me get down and sent a boy to repair it. But he also returned saying all shops were closed,” Priyanka told her sister Bhavya over the phone.
Bhavya urged Reddy to stay on call, however, she went incommunicado.This chain of events indicates that the four accused namely, Md Pasha, Naveen from Gudigandla, cleaner Kesavulu, and an assistant named Siva, first took Reddy in confidence only to assault and strangulate her later .
At 9:44 PM, victim’s phone was switched off as her sister Bhavya continuously tried calling her. Unable to get in touch, the family lodged a missing complaint in the early hours (1 AM) on Thurday at Shamshabad Police Station.
At 5 AM, the milkman first spotted the fire on Thursday on his way to his farm and assumed it as a regular bonfire. It was while returning that he spotted a hand sticking out of the flames and alerted the villagers, who informed the police.
Owing to the missing person’s complaint by Reddy’s family, they were called to identify the charred body at Chattanpally Sub Road in Shadnagar, 25 km away from where Reddy went missing.
With the help of a scarf, a Ganesha locket, and a buckle, the family could identify the charred body as that of Reddy’s, according to Telangana Today.
With the help of CCTV footages, all four accused have been detained and are booked under sections 376D, 302, 201 of IPC and Criminal Amendment act.
“The case will be tried in a fast track court and efforts will be made so that the accused get the capital punishment” said Sajjanar, as New Indian Express reported.
As per the reports, the accused had planned Reddy’s abduction when they saw her parking her two wheeler at the toll plaza. They intentionally deflated the tyre assuming that she will return to pick the vehicle.They pretended to help her and dragged the unsuspecting lady behind the bushes.They allegedly raped and strangulated her and later transported the body in a lorry along with her scooter to Shadnagar. Her body was then wrapped in a bedsheet, doused in kerosene and set afire.
What Victim’s family has to say?
Reddy Family accused Police of not taking stern action as soon as the complaint was launched. Had they been swift enough, Priyanka would have been saved from being burnt alive. The victim’s mother, demanded that the accused be burnt alive in full public view, in the same way her daughter was killed. Reportedly, the police disbelieved the parents of Priyanka Reddy when they complained about missing daughter. Reddy’s parents have stated to media that when they insisted that their daughter might be in trouble, the police officer speaking to them had stated that their daughter must have eloped with someone.
Netizens Turn Angry
The incident took social media by swirl, hundreds of tweets surfaced online calling for capital punishment for the accused.Various hashtags such as #RIPPRIYANKAREDDY and #JUSTICEFORPRIYANKAREDDY were witnessed trending online. Many prominent personalities from vivid fraternities took to their twitter handles and showed their grief and concern regarding the case.
Here’s what Politicians Tweeted
I further request @TelanganaDGP to constitute a special team to nab the culprits and file charge sheets in this matter at the earliest to ensure no such incident occurs ever again.
My deepest condolences to her family.— G Kishan Reddy (@kishanreddybjp) November 28, 2019
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Deeply deeply pained to hear of #PriyankaReddy sexual assault and murder. It's easy to call for capital punishment or better surveillance. What's difficult is to teach our men to respect women, to treat them as equals with their own emotions. My prayers are with her family.— Ram Mohan Naidu K (@RamMNK) November 29, 2019
Here’s what Film Fraternity Tweeted
Anger,sorrow ,shock ..how could these inhuman,unimaginable crimes against women still happen despite such strong uproar & awareness ! Do these demons have no fear of punishment or law,,Where are we going wrong & lagging behind as a system & as a society,,,#JusticeForPriyankaReddy
— Yami Gautam (@yamigautam) November 29, 2019
I feel numb and deeply anguished to read about the inhuman crime against Doctor Priyanka Reddy. The culprits should be given Stringent punishment for this heinous crime.#RIPPriyankaReddy#JusticeForPriyankaReddy
— Madhur Bhandarkar (@imbhandarkar) November 29, 2019
Widespread protest has broken out in order to demand justice for Priyanka as soon as possible, meanwhile, the Mahabubnagar Bar Council has decided not to lend legal services to the accused men.
On Friday, National Commission for Women (NCW) also formed an inquiry committee, headed by a commission member to look into the barbarous criminal act. NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma called for stern action by the police and judiciary against those guilty. “The police and judiciary should act with an iron hand against those found guilty in the case. A member of NCW will be sent to Hyderabad today evening to help the family and ensure quick action in this case,” Rekha Sharma told ANI.
Betwixt all these events, Telangana Home Minister Mahmood Ali resorted to victim blaming. Reddy should have dialed the police helpline number ‘100’ instead of calling her sister and that she could have been saved if she called the police, said the minister. He further added that efforts will be made to create awareness about the police helpline number to the public for their safety.
Incidents and mishaps like these pose a serious threat towards women across the nation. It seems India didn’t learn enough from the gruesome rape and murder case from 2012 and continues to keep the security of the women at stake which results into such heinous crimes as that of Priyanka Reddy. She was making efforts to save animals but fell prey to the animals that humans have become.
Roots of such incidents lay really deep, from the lack of gender sensitization to lack of education, from unrestricted availabilitpy of liquor to accused ones yet to be punished, everything piles up making women the victim everytime.
It’s high time now that we all join hands together to fight this evil of the society. Even after so many years of independence, women out here still live in the shackles of fear and restrictions. This needs to be stopped. We don’t have to let it normalize and sit deep in roots and if we fail to do so then more of such crimes will not only tarnish our country’s reputation but also choke the humanity in every term and sense. #ThisNeedsToEnd
