CCTV footage last showed the woman at a toll booth in Shamshabad.
An advisory has been issued to the states by the centre to check crime against women, a day after the body of a 26-year-old veterinarian - badly burnt - was found in Hyderabad. The police suspect the woman may have been raped before she was murdered. "The Ministry of Home Affairs has sent an advisory to all states as a precautionary measure so that no such incident takes place in future," Minister of State (Home) G Kishan Reddy said on Friday.
Mr Reddy said the main accused of the crime was arrested by the local police, adding that the culprit should be given capital punishment.
"On behalf of the central government, I am talking to the state government officials. The Telangana DGP (police chief) is also coming to Delhi today and he will meet me. Those who were involved in the crime should be socially boycotted and no lawyer should represent them," he said.
The woman had gone missing when she was returning to her house from her workplace on Wednesday night. Her younger sister, in a complaint lodged with the police, said she got a call from the victim at 9.22 pm on Wednesday stating she was stranded at a toll plaza as her two-wheeler had developed a puncture.
On Thursday morning, her clothes, handbag, footwear and a liquor bottle were found by the police near the toll booth where she had parked her bike. Her body was found with 70 per cent burns under a bridge, in neighouring Ranga Reddy district, 30 km from the toll booth.
The body was identified by her family with the help of a locket of Lord Ganesh that she was wearing. It has been handed over to her family after post-mortem.
The police suspect that she may have been strangled, wrapped in a blanket, and she on fire after kerosene or petrol was poured on her.
The bike was spotted about 10 km away from where her body was found.
Four people have been taken into custody in connection with the murder.