Hyderabad: Five held for raping 2 minors who escaped shelter

Hyderabad: Police apprehended five individuals for allegedly raping two minor girls after they escaped from a rehabilitation shelter in Hyderabad.

The accused have been identified as Sai Deep, Raju, Nagaraju, Akhil, and Rohith.

According to reports, one of the girls from Jangaon had been residing in a shelter for the past three months, while the other, from Malkajgiri, arrived on September 18. Although both girls have parents, they were placed in the shelter for different personal reasons. Growing closer during their time together, they planned to run away, eventually escaping through a window on September 24.

After their disappearance, the shelter management complained to Saidabad police who registered a case.

The two girls managed to reach Jangaon by 8 pm that night. One girl reportedly borrowed a phone from the accused, Sai Deep, a pan shop owner near the bus stand, to contact a known acquaintance named Nagaraju.

He arrived and took her under the pretence of offering shelter but instead sexually assaulted her.

Meanwhile, Sai Deep noticed the second girl alone near the bus stand and lured her to a nearby bakery, promising her shelter. There, both Sai Deep and Raju, the bakery owner, raped her.

The following morning, Nagaraju returned the first girl to the bus stand and left her there.

After discovering that both girls were at the bus stand, Sai Deep, along with his friends Akhil and Rohith, convinced them to go with them to Hyderabad, claiming they would help. Instead, they drove the girls to different locations and sexually assaulted them before dropping them back at the bus stand.

Later that day, the police located the girls at the bus stand and returned them to the rehabilitation centre in Saidabad. The shelter’s management contacted experts from the Bharosa Centre, where the girls received counselling.

During these sessions, they disclosed the sexual assaults they had endured.

Based on the girls’ statements, the Saidabad police registered a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act against the five men involved.

The accused were subsequently taken into custody and remanded for further investigation.