The four arrested accused. (Clock-wise from left) Mohammed alias Arif (26), Jollu Naveen, Chennakeshavulu alias Chenna (20) and Jollu Shiva (20)

The four arrested accused. (Clock-wise from left) Mohammed alias Arif (26), Jollu Naveen, Chennakeshavulu alias Chenna (20) and Jollu Shiva (20)

HYDERABAD: The main accused in the gang-rape and murder of a young veterinary doctor on the outskirts of Hyderabad last Wednesday had been driving a truck for more than two years without a licence and was never caught until around 48 hours before the heinous crime.But even when Mohd Ali, alias Areef, was intercepted by vigilance and transport staff at Mahbubnagar on Nov 25, he evaded arrest and seizure of his truck. Police said Ali made the truck immobile as officials were impounding it, and then drove away when they had moved on.Details of how Ali got away scot-free despite not having a driving licence emerged during the probe into how he and three alleged accomplices conspired to target the veterinary doctor, police said.On November 24, Ali and truck cleaner Jollu Shiva had picked up a load of bricks in Karnataka and were travelling towards Hyderabad, where they were to deliver the consignment. According to the remand report, Ali called the other two accused, Jollu Naveen and Chintakunta Chennakeshavulu, to meet him at Gudigandla village in Telangana. The plan was to illegally carry an extra load of steel channels from there to Hyderabad.While Chintakunta returned home from the village after loading the steel, the other three travelled towards Hyderabad from Gudigandla. When they were passing through Mahbubnagar, a joint team of the regional transport authority and the vigilance and enforcement department intercepted the truck near I Town police station.“This was around 4am on November 25. The driver of the truck did not have a licence. Our officials decided to impound the vehicle, but Ali cunningly removed the selfstart cable to ensure that the truck couldn’t move. Since the truck wasn’t starting, we moved to another location to carry on our work. When we returned, the accused had fled with the truck,” assistant motor vehicles inspector Chiranjeevi told TOI.From Mahbubnagar, the accused went to a fuel pump and parked the truck there. From the fuel pump, Chennakesavulu drove the truck while Naveen rode the bike. Near the Raikal toll plaza, the accused sold the steel channels for Rs 4,000.Around 9pm on November 26, the four of them reached Shamshabad, parked the truck by the roadside and slept inside the vehicle. The next day, at 9am, a police team came to the spot and asked the accused to move the vehicle from there.Instead of leaving Shamshabad, the accused went towards the Thondupally ORR toll plaza and parked the truck . They were busy drinking when they saw the veterinary doctor park her scooter next to the truck.They immediately hatched a plan to target her, a police officer said.“They poured some liquor into her mouth. The victim lost consciousness during the sexual assault. When she came to, Ali smothered her to death,” the remand report states.After committing the murder, the accused wrapped the body in a sheet and dumped it below a culvert near Ashiyana Hotel in Chattanpalli. “After setting fire to the body, the accused destroyed the two SIM cards of the victim and left the place. They abandoned the victim's scooter at Kothur and took the truck to Aramgarh around 5am on November 28," the report says.After his accomplices left, Ali parked the truck at Auto Nagar in Shamshabad and went home.