The mother of the 26-year-old veterinary doctor who was raped and murdered last week in Hyderabad, triggering national outrage, wants the culprits to be burnt in the same way her daughter was charred to death.
Speaking in an interview, the young woman's mother, who doesn't speak much Hindi, says, "I want them to burn in the same way they burnt my daughter." Speaking in Telugu, she turns towards her husband for translation.
Her husband and younger daughter sitting by her side, who haven't slept properly since last week when their girl went missing on her way home, assist the woman in expressing her rage.
The mother then remembers, "The last time she spoke to me was on her way home and she asked me to cut fruit as she was hungry. Even then she didn't tell me anything about the flat tyre and I was waiting for her at home with food prepared."
Her father says the distraught family hasn't slept since last Thursday when they last spoke to their daughter before she was waylaid by the gang of men who raped and burnt her body beyond recognition.
The father says, "Police took us to identify the body the next day at 10 am. I immediately recognised my daughter seeing parts of the charred body and some items that were lying around. The police didn't bother to inform us after 7:30 am when they found her."
"People keep telling us she should have called the police on 100. There are so many steps and instructions to follow on 100 that a person would have to rehearse before calling them. Name one person in Telangana who has been saved after dialling 100," the father asks.
Also Read: UP Police arrests man for raping 70-year-old woman in Sonbhadra
He then goes back in time to remember how his daughter would study 14 hours a day to achieve her dream. "She had fulfilled her dream. She would study 14 hours a day and then got a job, which she did for 3 years. Then she died."
However, the father still doesn't agree with the call for lynching and castrating the rapists and culprits who killed his daughter.
He says, "The government should be the one to act. If it's left on the public, it would create a law and order situation across the country. Make stronger laws to prevent such incidents."
A court in Hyderabad on Monday posted for Tuesday a petition filed by Cyberabad Police seeking 10-day custody of the four people arrested for raping and murdering the 26-year-old woman veterinarian.
The four men, who faced violent protests while being taken to the prison, are now kept in solitary confinement at Cherlapally Prison in Hyderabad.