"I feel they have done a very nice job. If they had escaped, there would have been questions about how the police let them escape. Also, it would have been difficult to arrest them again. Even if it (their arrest) would have happened, the whole procedure of punishing them would take unfathomable time," he said.

Seema Samriddhi Kushwaha, the counsel representing Nirbhaya's parents, also welcomed the development.

"Those who talk of human rights over this encounter, I would like to ask them that did they ever go to the accused or their families and told them not to do such crimes? Do women in this country have no human rights? The girl in Unnao was burnt by the accused who were out on bail, where were these human rights activists then?" Kushwaha asked.

The 25-year-old veterinarian was gang raped by four truck drivers and cleaners near the Outer Ring Road at Shamshabad on the night of November 27. They later dumped the body near Shadnagar town, about 28 km away, and set it afire.

The accused were shot dead early Friday morning when they allegedly tried to escape from the crime scene where the police had brought them to re-enact the incident.

The victim's father also welcomed the development, saying that justice had been done.