Global media gives prominent coverage to police action in Hyderabad rape-murder case
Washington/London: The death of all the four accused in the sensational rape and murder of a young veterinarian in Hyderabad on Friday received prominent coverage in the world media which highlighted the enormous public support while also drawing attention to concerns over the extra-judicial executions.
All four men arrested on November 29 for allegedly raping and killing the 25-year-old woman by smothering her and later burning her body were shot dead by police on Friday during a pre-dawn exchange of fire near Hyderabad, a top police official said.
The Washington Post in a detailed report said the deaths sparked praise in some quarters in a country that has grappled with a series of gruesome crimes against women and girls. But activists and lawyers said the shootings bore the hallmarks of extrajudicial killings.
Killings by police of suspected criminals are so widespread in India that they have their own terminology. Such incidents are known as "encounter" killings, and the officers involved typically state that they acted in self-defense. But activists say that in practice, police officers enjoy broad impunity and that the killings are not followed by thorough investigations, the report said.
Terming it as one of India's "most troubling" rape cases of recent months, The New York Times noted that the chilling incident was brought to a sudden and shocking end on Friday.
"The officers are being hailed as heroes, and were showered with rose petals by residents who thronged the streets of Hyderabad to celebrate what they saw as an act of swift retribution for a horrific crime. So many people poured into the streets on Friday to celebrate that traffic was brought to a standstill," it said.
The woman's charred remains were found near a highway underpass on November 27, sparking nationwide outrage and protests in several major cities including Bengaluru and New Delhi. Many of the demonstrators carried placards and chanted slogans demanding the death penalty for the suspects, the CNN reported.
News of the police action has been widely celebrated on social media. Many took to Twitter and Facebook to applaud the police, saying they had "delivered justice", wrote the BBC.
Rape and sexual violence against women have been in focus in India since the December 2012 gang-rape and murder of a young woman on a bus in the capital, Delhi. But there has been no sign that crimes against women are abating, the British public broadcaster noted.
The rape and murder case prompted a wave of public vitriol across India, with thousands taking to the streets in protest over the week and calls from politicians and the public for the men to be lynched, The Guardian said in its report.
The killing of the suspects proved highly divisive in India, with some celebrating it as "quick justice" while others condemned the police appearing to take the law into their own hands, it said.
High-profile cases of violence against women have provoked fury in India. Thousands of people took to the streets across the country on Monday to protest the brutal attack in Hyderabad, said The Telegraph.
"Activists have called for rape cases to be fast-tracked through the courts and for tougher sentences," it said.
Hundreds took to the streets in protest around the country demanding justice. The men could not appear in court after crowds surrounded a police station, demanding they be handed over to be lynched, British daily The Times reported.
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WHO declares global health emergency over Ebola outbreak in Congo, Uganda
Abuja (Nigeria) (AP): WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared the Ebola disease outbreak in Congo and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern on Sunday after more than 300 suspected cases and 88 deaths.
In a post on X, the World Health Organisation said the outbreak does not meet the criteria of a pandemic emergency like the COVID-19 pandemic, and advised against the closure of international borders.
Ebola is highly contagious and can be contracted via bodily fluids such as vomit, blood or semen. The disease it causes is rare, but severe and often fatal.
Health authorities have confirmed the current outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, a rare variant of the Ebola disease that has no approved therapeutics or vaccines. Although more than 20 Ebola outbreaks have taken place in Congo and Uganda, this is only the third time the Bundibugyo virus has been reported.
Congo accounts for all except two of the cases, both of which were reported in neighbouring Uganda, the WHO said.
Officials first reported the spread of the disease in Congo's eastern province of Ituri, close to Uganda and South Sudan, on Friday. On Saturday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention reported 336 suspected cases and 87 deaths.
“There are significant uncertainties regarding the true number of infected persons and geographic spread associated with this event at the present time. In addition, there is limited understanding of the epidemiological links with known or suspected cases,” Tedros said.
Uganda on Saturday confirmed one case it said was imported from Congo, and said the patient died at a hospital in Uganda's capital, Kampala, and the WHO said that a second case has been reported in Kampala. The two cases had no apparent links to each other, and both patients had travelled from Congo, it added.
The Bundibugyo virus was first detected in Uganda's Bundibugyo district during a 2007-2008 outbreak that infected 149 people and killed 37 people. The second time was in 2012 in an outbreak in Isiro, Congo, where 57 cases and 29 deaths were reported.
WHO's emergency declaration is meant to spur donor agencies and countries into action. However, the global response to previous declarations has been mixed.
In 2024, when the WHO declared mpox outbreaks in Congo and elsewhere in Africa a global emergency, experts at the time said it did little to get supplies like diagnostic tests, medicines and vaccines to affected countries quickly.
