The 'encounter' killing of the four men accused in the rape and murder of a woman veterinarian in Hyderabad touched a deep chord on Friday with 600,000 tweets and counting in just some hours, some cheering and others concerned at what they viewed as one more instance of vigilantism.
The deep schisms on the incident were reflected on Twitter and other social media sites as thousands of people aired their views, many recalling that Cyberabad Commissioner V C Sajjanar, who carried out the "encounter" was involved in a similar incident in 2008.
Hashtags like #justiceforDisha, #encounter, and #Hyderabadhorror started trending on Twitter from early on Friday.
Many people took to the microblogging site to thank and celebrate the police officer for "delivering justice" for a second time.
In 2008, when Sajjanar was the superintendent of police in Warangal, he had shot dead three young men a day after their arrest in an acid attack case.
"2008: Warangal Acid attack perpetrators killed in an #Encounter. 2019: Hyderabad #DishaCase perpetrators killed in an #Encounter. Name: VC Sajjanar. Job: Delivering Justice, one bullet at a time. #JusticeForDisha," tweeted one user.
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"Remembering the encounter of Warangal Acid case accused in this context. Now after 4 accused in #Justicefordisha have been shot dead , salute to the man behind this prevention of escape IPS VC sajjanar. #Thankyousajjanar," wrote another.
Friday's "encounter" took place in the early hours when the four men were taken to the scene of the crime near Hyderabad for a reconstruction of events as part of the investigation.
According to a senior police official, the accused snatched weapons from police and fired on them and then tried to flee. The police fired back in retaliation, resulting in their deaths, he said.
The four men were arrested on November 29 for allegedly raping and killing the woman by smothering her and later burning her body.
The hashtag #humanrights also started catching on with as more than 32,000 tweets till evening, as more and more people argued that human rights are not meant for rapists.
"When terrorists and Maoists were encountered without any court trial then why rapists be left ..#EncounterNirbhaya rapists who were fed like pigs in Tihar jail since 7 years should also be encountered like mad dogs in the streets of Delhi.#humanrights only for humans not brutes," one user wrote.
Another tweeted, "#HumanRights are only for humans not Monsters. Rapiest = Monsters They only deserve #Encounter."
Sharing the video, one Twitter user wrote, "#Disha's colony members burst crackers and distribute sweets to cops. They say even though they have lost her, they're happy that justice has been served within 10 days. #JusticeForDisha #EncounterNight."
"SAY NO TO TRIGGER TRACK INJUSTICE! This is absolutely unacceptable. So all that the state will do in the name of ensuring that women live as equal and free citizens is to add to its arsenal of unlimited arbitrary violence!