Hyderabad, December 7: A team from the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Saturday began on-the-spot investigation into the alleged police encounter in which four men accused in the gang-rape and murder of a woman veterinarian, were killed near here.

Official sources said the team visited a government hospital at Mahabubnagar, where the bodies of the accused were kept after post-mortem. The NHRC took cognisance of the encounter killings of the four accused in the case and ordered a probe on Friday. The apex human rights body in the country had said the encounter was a matter of concern and needed to be investigated carefully. Hyderabad Encounter: All Accused in Vet Rape And Murder Case Gunned Down at Same Spot Where They Dumped Victim's Body, Here Are Other Details of Shootout.

"The commission is of the opinion that this matter is required to be probed very carefully. Accordingly, it has asked its Director General (Investigation) to immediately send a team for a fact-finding, on-the-spot investigation into the matter," the NHRC said.

The NHRC team is expected to visit the encounter site at Chattanpalli village, about 50 kms from here, and also the place, near a toll plaza on the city outskirts, where the woman was allegedly gang-raped on the night of November 27. The post-mortem of the four accused was done at the Government District Hospital in Mahabubnagar district and videographed.

The Telangana High Court on Friday directed the state government to preserve the bodies of four accused till 08:00 PM on December 9.

All the four accused were shot dead by police on Friday during a pre-dawn exchange of fire near Hyderabad. The four were arrested on November 29 for allegedly raping and killing the 25-year-old woman.