More gruesome details of how four men gang-raped and murdered Hyderabad veterinary doctor, Poornima*, have come out in the remand filed by the Telangana police.
The four men arrested by police on 29 November – Mohammad alias Areef, Jollu Shiva, Jollu Naveen and Chinakunta Chennakashavulu – abducted, gang-raped, and suffocated the vet to death, then burnt her body on the intervening night of 27 and 28 November in Hyderabad’s Shamshabad area.
1. How They Decided to Commit the Crime
When the woman came to the toll gate and parked her scooter, all the four accused – who had been drinking – set their eyes set on her. They decided at that moment that they would rape her since “she was beautiful”.
This is when they came up with the malicious ploy to puncture her tyre and then pretend to offer help.
2. How They Abucted Her
As Mohammad, Naveen and Chennakashavulu picked her up, the woman screamed to attract attention. This is when Muhammad cupped her mouth so she could not make a sound while the other two continued to drag her into the bushes near the toll booth.
In the meantime, Naveen took her phone and switched it off.
Even while they forcibly removed her clothes, Poornima was screaming in the bushes.
3. Forced Her to Drink
While the men were drinking, they had bought an additional half a bottle of whiskey. This is what they forced her to drink.
After making her drink, they took turns to rape her. As Poornima bled, she fell unconscious.
4. How They Killed Her
The men continued to rape her. After a while, Poornima regained consciousness. Seeing that she had woken up, they decided they had to kill her. Muhammad put his hand over her mouth and nose, suffocating her until she finally stopped breathing.
5. They Robbed Her
After she was dead, Naveen took her mobile phone, power bank, wrist watch and kept them under a cover in the lorry.
6. Burning the Body
The men dressed her dead body with the trousers and top they had removed, wrapped it in a bed sheet, and put it in the lorry. While two men drove, two others looked for petrol at the ESSAR petrol bunk, where the shopkeeper refused to give it to them in a plastic bottle as they asked. They then went to the IOC petrol bunk instead, where they were able to procure the petrol.
As they burnt her body, they threw Poornima’s SIM card into the flames, and hid her belongings near the place they had burnt her.
7. What Have They Been Charged With?
The four accused have been booked under Section 120(B) (criminal conspiracy), 366 (kidnapping, abducting or inducing woman to compel her marriage), 506 (criminal intimidation), 376-D (gang-rape), 302 (murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender) r/w 34 (common intention) and 392 (robbery) of the IPC.
*Name changed to protect victim’s identity
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