Can Hyderabad ever be the same?     

Even as the outcry over the rape and murder of the Hyderabad vet (now renamed Disha) grows louder, it seems that the rapists may not be first time offenders. Though they left some clues because of which they could be nabbed, they went about their job in a manner that seems to be the handiwork of those who are quite experienced.

Police officials claim that first-time rapists mostly run away from the site of crime. But these rapists, after killing their victim, did not leave the body at the site: The body, they decided, had to be disposed to erase clues. Thus, they carried the body on the back of a truck for several kilometers, 27 kms to be precise, before burning it down at a deserted underpass.

Because of the burning, police may find it difficult to prove the rape: because major evidence like that of the seminal fluids could have got lost. However, the police were able to zero in on the accused because of cameras at various places on the road which caught the images of the truck and the two-wheeler of the victim.

One of the rapists had ridden the two-wheeler: to scout for places where the body could be disposed. What is more, he dismounted at a petrol pump to get petrol to burn the body. Had the rapists not used the two-wheeler of the victim, it would have been difficult to identify them.

“They made the mistake of not realising that there were traffic cameras on the road,” confided a police officer. “I think in the district court the accused might get a death sentence; it can be reduced to life imprisonment in the high court for some of the accused. Then the Supreme Court will ask for more irrefutable evidence to confirm the death sentence,” he added.

Public anger, he philosophically added, will mount when after a similar incident in any part of India, many years later it will be found that the offenders are yet to be hanged.

Whatever is the ultimate fate of the rapists, half of Hyderabad and many other cities in India are baying for their blood. Unprecedented protests across many urban centres are asking for their hanging. Even the day after the rape when the accused were removed from police custody and moved to jail, police found it difficult to transport them because of the large blood-thirsty crowds gathered at the police station. They wanted that the accused be handed over to them.

While women unequivocally want the rapists to be dealt with sternly, men are ambivalent. “I am keeping quiet but nobody is pointing to the faults of the woman. Why did she seek help from the guys who later raped her,” asked a prominent citizen, sounding incredulous.

Many other men have similar views and say that the girl had virtually invited the rape! This comment is like that of the Telangana home minister who wondered why the girl did not call 100 (police help line number) to save herself.

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is also silent. While on his way to attend a marriage in Delhi, he was accosted by the media after the incident. But he walked away coolly without answering them.

His son K T Rama Rao, who is a minister, is trying to avoid questions by counter posing why the culprits of Nirbhaya are still to be hanged. The CM’s daughter Kavita, an MP earlier who used to position herself as an icon for women in Telangana, is also conspicuous by her silence and absence.

It seems that the bosses of Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) – which rules over the state- have told their representatives not to appear on TV on this matter.

“For the lorry driver and the cleaner, since the victim came from a higher social strata, she was somebody who was to be desired. In normal circumstances, they would not be able to get friendly with her. So, overpowering her and forcing themselves on her was the option they chose.

“Not every person from a lower strata of society thinks like that though,” said an IT professional. “We have to teach at home that boys and girls are equal. This is missing in India,” says Swati Sinha, an IT professional in Bengaluru.”

For college students, many of whom use two wheelers, this incident is a double whammy. “Here goes my independence. My parents are scared after the incident and are clear that I should be back home by 7 pm and not use the two wheeler on which I ride around,” says Sudha Rani, a college goer.

She is not alone.

Most of the young women riders are under pressure from apprehensive parents.

Will Hyderabad remain the same as befo