Four accused in vet doc gang rape, lodged in isolated cells at Cherlapally

Hyderabad: The four accused in the brutal gang-rape and murder of Hyderabad veterinary doctor Disha (name changed) have been put in isolated cells amidst enhanced security at Cherlapally Central Jail.

The sensitive cells located away from the rest of the jail accommodations are primarily meant to lodge those accused in terror attacks and ISIS operations.

'The four have been separated and lodged in different isolated cells to avoid confrontation or physical assaults against one another or attempting to commit suicides. They have undergone medical checkup and other jail formalities', said a jail source.

Meanwhile, the authorities ruled out speculations over the age of one of the accused. The father of Jolly Naveen had said in an interview that his son was 17 years of age, and hence a minor. However, jail officials claim that the Aadhar card and other identification documents proved all four to be majors.

'The jail won't accept inmates below 18 years, the documents of the four were verified’, added the source.

Many women right organizations and a team of advocates staged a protest at the Cherlapally prison on Sunday morning demanding capital punishment for the four. The Telangana Bar Council has unanimously decided not to extend legal assiatnce to the four.

Public fury compelled shifting rapists to Cherlapally: Cops

The Cyberabad police, in an extraordinary precaution, did not wish to shift the four rapists involved in the vet doctor’s murder to Mahabubnagar jail, as they could face a threat to their lives. The public outrage had gathered enough steam to spark-off riots and security apparatus at Mahabubnagar jail was haphazard.

Drawing lessons from the mysterious death of one of the convicts in the Nirbhaya gang-rape incident in Tihar jail, the police, in a eleventh hour execution, tactfully shifted the four accused to Cherlapally Central Jail in Hyderabad.

While Mahabubnagar jail would have been an option because of proximity, the Telangana State police did not transfer them there on Saturday.

Speaking to NewsMeter, a police officer investigating the gang-rape, on condition of anonymity, said “The inmates at the Mahabubnagar district jail are mostly locals. They may hold resentment against the accused and there was a high possibility of dangerous incidents happening, like it happened in Tihar. Moreover, since this sensitive issue has gained global attention, wiser counsel prevailed and we opted for Cherlapally Jail, which has better security measures’.

A day after the four accused, Mohammed Areef, Jollu Shiva, Jollu Naveen and Chintakunta Chenakeshavulu were arrested, they were taken to Shadnagar police station on the intervening night of November 29-30. Hours into the judicial proceedings, the four were presented before the regional Mandal Revenue officer at the Shadnagar police station and later remanded to 14 days of judicial custody.

The cops faced a Herculean task while trying to shift them out of Shadnagar and, more importantly, trying to shield them from public wrath.

Since the cops could not take the four to a government hospital for final check-up, because of angry protesters, two doctors were called to the police station for the final check-up.

Meanwhile, police had to resort to mild lathi-charge to disperse the crowd, though it was a futile exercise as the protestors, who kept coming in, flung slippers at the vehicle ferrying the four.