Several organisations, including some Sangh Parivar outfits, have lent support to the five women, arrested in connection with the lynching of notorious criminal Akku Yadav in the premises of a court on August 13.

"The arrested women ceased to believe that law enforcement machinery could uphold their constitutional and legal rights since the deceased goon used to terrorise them and they had no option but to take law into their hands," a release from Vishwa Samwad Kendra said on Wednesday.

Among other organisations, those supporting the cause of the five women include Rashtra Sevika Samiti, Bhartiya Stree Shakti, Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, Vidya Bharti, Vidyarthi Parishad and Vivekanand Kendra, all Sangh Parivar outfits.

"We urge the courts of law to take a human view of the act of women and understand the spirit of act in the light of Section 100 of IPC, 1860, which permits a victim to even cause the death of her assailant in exercising her right to private defence, specially in the case of rape," the statement added.

The signatories include chief of Samiti Usha Chati, joint chief Rukmini, Meena Bhatta, Urmila Apte, Swati Shahne, Sumati Suklikar, Shrikant Joshi and others.

Yadav was externed from Nagpur and picked up on August 7 for entering city without permission. He was remanded to custody till August 13 and was brought to the court on that day.

But without waiting for judicial verdict on his criminal activities, a group of women and others, brutally killed him in the court premises.

Women activists led by trade union leader Chandra today assembled before district court and raised slogans demanding their immediate release. They threatened to surrender before the court, if the accused were not released on bail.

A group of 116 city lawyers, led by advocate Prabhakar Marpakwar had pledged support to the accused and offered free legal aid to them.

"The deceased was a terror and had raped several women right from a 10 year old girl to a pregnant woman and the desperation on part of women, forced them to eliminate him," Marpakwar said.

Officials at Jaripatka and Panchpaoli police stations were shielding Yadav all these days, he alleged.

The lawyers' group demanded that the alleged police-criminal nexus be probed thoroughly.