Hyderabad: A 19-year-old girl was allegedly raped and murdered on her birthday at Hanamkonda town in Telangana, police said on Thursday.

The girl had left the house on Wednesday morning after informing her parents that she was going to temple for prayers on the occasion of her birthday. When she did not return for several hours, they tried to contact her but the mobile phone was switched off.

Alarmed over this, the girl’s parents lodged a missing complaint with the police. A police team found the girl’s body on Hunter Road in the town late in the night. The body was shifted to MGM Hospital in Warangal for autopsy.

Police suspect the girl was raped and murdered. Special police team were pressed into service to gather clues. The investigators were also analysing the victim’s call data and CCTV footage in the area.

Police on Friday picked up four suspects in connection with a gang rape and murder of a 22-year-old veterinarian in the outskirts here on Wednesday.

Those detained include a truck driver and a cleaner. The police suspect the girl was gang raped by the accused, who later strangulated her to death and burnt the body.

The Cyberabad Police officials are likely to announce the arrests and reveal the details of the case later in the day.

While the victim was gang raped and murdered near the Tondupally toll plaza in Shamshabad on the outskirts here, her body was dumped and burnt 25 km away at the Chatanpally Bridge in the Ranga Reddy district.

The incident sent shockwaves across the state, drew all round condemnation besides bringing people from all walks of life out on streets in protest against the heinous crime. They also raised the issue of law and order in the particular district.

Telangana Minister K.T. Rama Rao on Friday condemned the incidentand promised to personally monitor the case.

Rama Rao, son of Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao, said the government would ensure that the victim gets justice at the earliest.

Police suspect the victim was raped and murdered by those who offered to help her in rectifying a punctured two-wheeler.

The victim’s clothes, footwear and a liquor bottle were recovered by the police near the toll plaza, where she had parked her scooty.

Ten police teams were directed immediately after the crime broke, to crack the case.