Police in India have shot dead four men who were being held as suspects over the rape and murder of a vet in Hyderabad last week.

The charred remains of the victim, 27, were found a day after she disappeared and the case caused widespread anger in India over the police’s handling of rape and violence against women.

The suspects were taken back to the scene of the crime but were shot after they attempted to escape and steal guns from officers, according to Hyderabad’s police.

“They tried to snatch weapons from the guards but were shot dead,” Prakash Reddy, the deputy commissioner of police in Shamshabad, near Hyderabad, said. “They were killed in crossfire.”

“We called an ambulance but they died before any medical help could reach them.”

Mr Reddy confirmed that two police officers were injured in the incident.

The four men were arrested on charges of raping, murdering and burning the body of the veterinary doctor, who had parked her scooter on a busy highway on November 27.