Hours after the brutal daylight murder of a lawyer couple in India, police said that the killings were executed by professional killers.

Well-known lawyers G. V. R. and his wife N, who were travelling in a four-wheeler, were waylaid and killed on the road by unknown assailants on Wednesday. The incident happened at 2.30 pm.

Police said, "Some assailants brutally stabbed them to death after overtaking their vehicle and stopping it." The assailants, who were in an SUV, had blocked the vehicle of the couple, leaving them with no escape route.

Traffic briefly came to a halt on both sides as motorists and bystanders watched the killings in horror. Some passers-by captured the brutal murders on their phone cameras. One video shows the assailants escaping in their SUV after the murders.

G. V. R. told bystanders in his dying testimony that he believed that K. S. was behind the attack. K. S, who belongs to the same village as the couple, is allegedly the TRS Manthani mandal president. However, the police are yet to confirm this.

After the incident was reported to the police, the couple were taken to the government hospital for treatment. However, they succumbed to their injuries while undergoing treatment.

The couple were returning to Hyderabad after appearing in a local court. The lawyer couple had recently filed a petition in the High Court over the alleged custodial death of Seelam Rangaiah, a Dalit man who was arrested under charges of poaching willd animals. At the time, the HC tasked the Hyderabad Commissioner of Police Anjani Kumar to probe the allegations of custodial death.

However, the couple recently sought protection from the HC alleging that they were being harassed by the police for seeking a probe into the custodial death. A bench comprising Chief Justice Hima Kohli and B Vijaysen Reddy was hearing a plea by the couple that the police were allegedly harassing them with several FIRs in remote police stations in Telangana. The court had extended protection to the couple and posted the matter for further hearing in April.

Meanwhile, the Telangana High Court Advocates Association (THCAA) in a statement condemened the murders and sought prosecution of the culprits without any delay.