All four accused in the Hyderabad veterinarian's rape and murder case have been killed in an exchange of fire with police on Friday morning, police have said.

The incident took place around 6.30 am when the accused were taken to the site of offence for the reconstruction of the scene of the crime as part of the investigation, a senior police official was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

"They (accused) snatched weapons from police and fired on police and tried to escape... police fired in retaliation in which the four accused died," a senior police official told PTI. Two policemen were also injured, he said.

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The four accused were shot dead on NH-44 near Hyderabad -- the same highway where the charred body of 26-year-old Disha was found.

Hyderabad: Senior Police officials arrive at the site of the encounter. All four accused in the rape and murder of woman veterinarian in Telangana were killed in an encounter with the police when the accused tried to escape while being taken to the crime spot. https://t.co/TB4R8EuPyr pic.twitter.com/7fuG87MP0m ANI (@ANI) December 6, 2019

THE BRUTAL RAPE AND MURDER CASE

Nationwide protests had erupted after charred body of a 26-year-old woman was found in an underpass on Hyderabad outskirts on November 28.

The 26-year-old veterinary doctor was smothered, raped and then burnt by four men night and her body was found the next day on November 28 under a culvert on the Hyderabad-Bengaluru national highway.

According to the Cyberabad police, the four accused had punctured the rear wheel of her scooter, offered to help her, dragged her to a secluded spot close to a toll plaza and raped her. It said the victim died due to suffocation and the accused later burnt her body.

The four men, all lorry workers, aged between 20 and 24, were arrested on November 29 for raping and killing the woman by smothering her and later burning her body.

The accused were identified as Mohammad Areef, Jollu Shiva, Jollu Naveen, and Chintakunta Chennakeshavulu. Mohammad Areef (25), who worked as a driver, was the prime accused in the case. The four accused in the gruesome gangrape and murder of a woman veterinarian doctor had been sent to judicial custody for 14 days.

WHAT HAS THE VICTIM'S FAMILY SAID

Reacting to the killing of the four accused in the encounter, the victim's sister said they welcomed it. "We are happy. We did not expect this (killing in the encounter). We thought they would be hanged through courts.

"We thank everyone who stood by us. With this incident people should be scared to indulge in such crimes (against women)," she told reporters.

Also read | 26-year-old Telangana vet burnt to death: Don't hang up, am scared, she told sister in last call

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