The Hyderabad Police wasted precious time, which could have been used to save life of the veterinarian who was brutally raped and murdered, her family told the National Commission for Women on Saturday.

NCW chief Rekha Sharma said a team of the women’s panel visited the veterinarian’s family who told them that the police played a “negative role” in the case. The family members also said the police even alleged she had eloped with someone, Sharma said.

She also slammed Telangana Home Minister Mohammed Mahmood Ali’s remarks on the victim, saying such politicians do not deserve such positions and need to be sensitised about the sensitive matter.

The 25-year-old veterinarian, whose charred body was found on the outskirts of Hyderabad, was raped before being killed, even as Ali stoked a controversy asking why she had not called police immediately.