VC Sajjanar - The Top Cop Who Led The Hyderabad Encounter Also Led The 2008 Warangal Encounter

The nation today woke up to the news of the killing of all the four accused, in the 27-year-old vet's gang-rape and murder case. The Hyderabad police said that all of them were brought to the crime scene to recreate the crime when they tried to flee, after which the police resorted to firing.

The encounter took place at 3:30 am on Friday, under a bridge on the Bengaluru-Hyderabad national highway near Chattanpalli village at Shadnagar. This is the same place where the victim was raped and burnt on the night of November 27.

Hyderabad: Heavy police presence at the spot where accused in the rape and murder of the woman veterinarian were killed in an encounter earlier today. #Telangana pic.twitter.com/tpIzyBgxdZ

¡ª ANI (@ANI) December 6, 2019

The police told the media that the accused tried to snatch the police¡¯s gun and in self-defence, the police fired back, and that's how the accused were killed.

"Cyberabad Police had brought the accused persons to the crime spot for re-construction of the sequence of events. The accused snatched police weapons and fired on the police. In self-defense, the police fired back, in which the accused were killed," says DCP Shamshabad, Prakash Reddy.

Interestingly, this encounter has a similarity with the Warangal encounter that took place eleven years ago in 2008. The top cop who was handling the Hyderabad vet¡¯s gang rape case - VC Sajjanar - was Superintendent of Police (SP) in Warangal, when the acid attack incident took place, the News Minute reported.

Who is VC Sajjanar?

Picture Courtesy: Twitter

In December of 2008, the Andhra Pradesh police neutralised three men accused of acid attack on two female engineering students. The students - Swapnika and Pranitha - were studying at the Kakatiya Institute of Technology in Warangal. The three accused - Srinivas Rao, P. Harikrishna, B. Sanjay - threw acid on the girls when they were returning home from college.

According to reports, they did so after the one of the girls had rejected the proposal of Srinivas - one of the accused. The encounter took place at Mamonoor on the outskirts of Warangal town, a few hours after the three were arrested.

Picture Courtesy: Twitter

The then Warangal Superintendent of Police, V.C. Sajannar, told reporters that a police team had taken the accused to the crime scene, where they had hidden the stolen motorbike and acid bottle used in the attack. The arrests were made within 48 hours of the attack on the girls.

"They suddenly took out a country-made weapon and tried to open fire and also threw acid on policemen. The police opened fire in self-defence, killing all the three accused," he said.

Sajannar said that Srinivas confessed during interrogation that he had grudges against Swapnika after she rejected his proposal and was seeing some other boy. He planned the attack with two friends to disfigure Swapnika, so that no one would be attracted to her.

Picture Courtesy: Twitter

After the encounter of the accused of the Hyderabad case, the families of the accused and human rights activists questioned the incident as it is very similar to what happened in Warangal, 11 years ago. However, Sajjanar became a local hero in both cases.

#WATCH Hyderabad: Neigbours of the woman veterinarian, celebrate and offer sweets to Police personnel after the four accused were killed in an encounter earlier today pic.twitter.com/MPuEtAJ1Jn

¡ª ANI (@ANI) December 6, 2019

After the Hyderabad encounter, people have been lauding the police, and the victim's neighbour expressed gratitude by tying rakhis to the cops of the force. People even showered rose petals on the police personnel at the spot where the encounter took place and many even chanted ¡®DCP Zindabad, ACP Zindabad¡¯ after the incident.