(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)

HYDERABAD: A 27-year-old government veterinary doctor, who was returning to her residence at Shamshabad from Gachibowli, was murdered and her body was set ablaze by assailants at an underpass at Chatanpally in Shadnagar , about 60km from the city, in the early hours of Thursday.Police suspect the victim may have been raped before she was murdered. Late in the night, police picked up two suspects — a lorry driver and a cleaner, both from Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh — for questioning.Around 6am on Thursday morning, milk vendor S Sathyam found a body burning underneath an underpass of a flyover on NH-44 (Hyderabad-Bengaluru Highway). He immediately called village elders, who informed local police.After confirming that it was a murder, Cyberabad police verified recent missing complaints. On Wednesday night, the Shamshabad police had received a complaint of a veterinary doctor missing. When her family reached the spot where the fully charred body was found, they established its identity based on a scarf and a Ganesha locket around the victim’s neck.“The victim’s bike was found at Kothur, while her mobile phone and purse are missing,” Cyberabad police commissioner VC Sajjanar confirmed.But the vehicle’s number plates were missing. Police believe the accused, who drove her bike all the way to Kothur, about 30 km away from the toll plaza, might have removed them before abandoning it.The victim’s family members said the vet reported for duty at her place of work in Kollur in Mahbubnagar district and returned to her residence in the afternoon. Around 5.30pm, she left her residence on a two-wheeler for consulting a dermatologist at a private hospital at Gachibowli for a skin problem. She parked her vehicle at Tondupally toll plaza at Outer Ring Road (ORR) in Shamshabad, police said. From there, she took a shared cab to reach Gachibowli and met the skin specialist at the hospital.“A couple of hours later, she returned from Gachibowli and reached the toll plaza in a cab to take her bike, which was captured by CCTVs at the plaza. However, two men approached her, claiming her bike had a flat tyre. They offered to get it repaired,’’ Cyberabad deputy commissioner of police (Shamshabad) Prakash Reddy said.The duo took the bike and returned after some time claiming that the nearby tyre repair shop was closed and they would help her by taking it to another shop, police said. She walked for a few metres and waited for the duo at an isolated place where some lorries were parked.“My sister called me at 9.22 pm and said two (unknown) persons had offered to help her, but returned without getting the tyre repaired. She said nearby there were several persons along with their lorries. My sister said that she was feeling scared. So, I asked her to be at the toll plaza and be safe,’’ the victim’s younger sister told media personnel.When the younger sister tried reaching the victim at 9.44 pm, her mobile phone was found switched off. Later, the disturbed family approached Shamshabad police, who registered a missing case.After the body was identified, Shadnagar police registered a case under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Cyberabad police said they found a CCTV footage of the victim walking near the toll plaza around 9 pm. However, police were clueless where and how the victim was murdered.After killing the vet, police suspect her body was wrapped in a rug, transported to the location at the underpass and set afire. Police have formed 10 teams to identify and nab the culprits.Read this story in BengaliRead this story in Marathi