NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian police shot dead four men accused of raping and killing a 27-year-old veterinarian in the city of Hyderabad on Tuesday, welcoming victims' families and citizens angry over crimes against women in India.
Police said the victim was kidnapped and raped, killed by strangulation, and the perpetrators burned her body in the outskirts of Hyderabad.
The four were in police custody and were shot dead near the crime scene last week when they tried to steal the weapons of their accompanying police, said the deputy police commissioner in Shemeshabad, near Hyderabad.
He said police had taken the four defendants - a truck driver and two truck cleaners aged between 20 and 26 - to the crime scene for re-representation at around 6 am.
"There was an exchange of fire in which all the defendants were killed and two policemen were wounded," he said.
Demonstrations and protests
Last week, thousands of Indians demonstrated in several cities to protest the rape and murder of the veterinarian.
Although Indian police face continuing accusations of extrajudicial killings, particularly in clashes with gangs in Mumbai and rebellion attempts in Punjab and disputed Kashmir, many Indians praised the killings on Friday and posted tweets on Twitter in support of the police, while the victim's family welcomed The news of the killing.
Crimes against women continue in India despite tough laws, after a mass rape and murder of a woman on a bus in Delhi in 2012 sparked public outrage across the country.