India cricket stars condemn brutal rape and murder of Disha

The entire country was left absolutely shellshocked after seeing the charred body of a 26-year-old doctor. She was raped and murdered in Shamshabad by four men on Wednesday night before being burned. According to the Cyberabad Police, the four accused had committed the heinous crime by meticulously planning for it.

They punctured the rear wheel of her scooter, offered to help her, dragged her to a secluded spot close to a toll plaza and then raped her. According to media reports, Disha was forced to consume a liquor-laced cold drink before the crime took place. With her mouth and nose closed while the heinous act was going on, she lost her life due to suffocation.

And as if those heinous acts were not enough, the accused brought petrol from a nearby village and burned her body under a culvert in Chatanpally on the Hyderabad-Bengaluru national highway. The police discovered the doctor’s charred body on Thursday morning under the culvert. All the four accused were nabbed from their houses on Friday by the Hyderabad Police. They have been sent to 14-days’ judicial custody.

Cricketers react to the horrifying news:

Unsurprisingly, the case has triggered an outrage across the nation. Thousands of protesters gathered outside a police station on the outskirts of Hyderabad on Saturday demanding four men accused of raping and murdering the victim, be handed over to them. Protests took place in other parts of the country as well.

The rape case has also caused outrage on social media and India cricket stars also condemned the crime. The likes of Ravichandran Ashwin, VVS Laxman, Shikhar Dhawan and several other big names from the game took to Twitter to condemn the act and demand justice for Priyanka Reddy.

Here are some of the reactions: 

“I regret putting #shame tweets for incidences like that of #PriyankaReddy The girl surely dint deserve this and I feel nothing but pain for her loved ones. It’s a cringeful act and the criminals must be dealt with like never before in order to stop such crimes in the future,” wrote Ravichandran Ashwin.

Veteran allrounder Irfan Pathan, on the other hand, urged for humanity to prevail over everything, writing:

“Mulk chaahe jiska bhi ho par jab insayiyat marti hay to saara jahan rota hay… #HangRapists”

Shikhar Dhawan expressed his shock and disgust over the barbaric crime as he tweeted:

“This is an extremely painful news of Priyanka Reddy, shocked and disgusted on hearing this. The offenders must be punished! My deepest condolences to her family and friends 🙏 #RIPPriyankReddy #JusticeForPriyankaReddyُ”

Legendary VVS Laxman was at loss of words while speaking about the ‘barbaric and heinous crime’, writing:

“How can someone commit such a barbaric and heinous crime. Speechless and shocked to know about the incident. Deep condolences to the family of #priyanakareddy It’s time the Govt takes stringent action and punish the guilty.”

India’s Test wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha said he was heartbroken to hear the news, tweeting:

“Shocked and heartbroken to learn about #DrPriyankaReddy. Let the culprits face the toughest punishment of the era.”