Coverage of the Hyderabad rape accused killings dominated the front pages of English and Hindi newspapers today. Early Friday morning, four men accused of raping and murdering a young veterinary doctor two days previously were gunned down by the police near the city’s Chatanpally Bridge, where they had reportedly been taken for “crime scene reconstruction”. The killings sparked celebrations and congratulatory words for the police, but also condemnation.

The Indian Express headlined its main report on the incident “Justice Executed”, and noted that the police officer under whose watch the killings happened, VC Sajjanar, has a record of such shootings. 

In an editorial criticising the calls for summary execution of the rape accused, the daily said, “The many lynching incidents in the last few years have already warned how a corrosive search for the ‘enemy’ is leading to brutal violence, whether against ‘child-lifters’ or ‘cow smugglers’. Moreover, in an iniquitous society, public outrage is easily gamed when those in the dock are the ‘others’ – the  poor and the working class. The same political class that cheers vigilantism is noticeably muted when the powerful are the accused.”

In its report headlined “Judge, Jury and Executioner”, The Telegraph denounced the killings, asking, “What are we celebrating? The end of rule of law?”

The Deccan Chronicle, published from Hyderabad, devoted the whole of its front page to the incident, leading with the headline, “Disha killers ‘encounter’ justice”. It reported that the families of the slain men were refusing to buy the police’s story, and that the Telangana High Court, “in a setback to the state police”, had directed that the bodies be preserved pending an investigation.

In its lead editorial, the newspaper said the killings set a “dangerous precedent”. “The ‘encounter’ story is unlikely to withstand scrutiny. It seems quite plain that the accused were shot dead in cold blood in order to appease public opinion,” the editorial argued, adding. “If the police turn into terrorists and are entrusted with hand-delivering speedy justice, no one may be safe. Instead of improving and reforming the courts, we may as well wind up the legal system.”  

The Times of India chose to give credence to the police’s story that the accused men had snatched their weapons and were then shot dead in self-defence. The daily, though, did report on the Cyberabad police chief’s history of such shootings.

Hindi newspapers used the killings to issue warnings on their front pages. 

Dainik Bhaskar’s headline thundered, “Dushkarmiyon…Dekh Lo Anjaam.” This translates to the paper telling rapists to watch out for the fate that awaits them. The newspaper’s viewpoint on the issue was also published on the front page. It said what had occurred in Hyderabad was straight out of a Hindi or Telugu film. It argued that the time was now ripe for the state to make tougher laws.

Dainik Jagran declared somewhat dramatically that the accused were gunned down at the very spot where the woman had been murdered. The front page image showed rose petals being showered on the police and the report described scenes of jubilation at the spot of the killings. The report remarked, “Khabar milte hi jhoom uthe log.”

Rajasthan Patrika and Navbharat Times went with more sober headlines that highlighted the debates that the police’s instant “justice” had ignited in the country. Patrika’s front page report carried voices opposing and supporting the police action.