Hyderabad: City police commissioner CV Anand on Tuesday informed that a total of five were involved in penetrative sexual assault in the Jubilee Hills minor gang rape case and four of them are juveniles (Children in Conflict in law or CCL). The accused who is an adult is Saduddin Malik.
“One more juvenile who was part of sexual assault (forcible kissing) but not penetrative rape, is found and is presently under custody. Another accused is still absconding. The fourth juvenile was absconding but is under our custody and will be sent to juvenile court,” Anand said while addressing a press conference on Tuesday night in Hyderabad.
The minor son of an AIMIM (All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen) MLA is believed to be the sixth accused in the case. Another minor is the son of a local leader from the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi party along with another accused who is the son of a Sanga Reddy district politician, according to media reports.
“We didn’t have the footage of what happened in the car until the BJP released the video,” Anand stated. On the status of the Innova vehicle used in the incident, the Hyderabad police commissioner said that the car was a government-owned “official” vehicle. He also put out the sequence of events that took place as part of the incident.
Sequence of events
According to Anand, one of the accused, based out of Bangalore, asked his friends to look out for a pub in Hyderabad to organise a non-alcohol and non-smoking party. The group, with the help of the manager Kunal and another friend Osman Ali Khan (the party was booked under his name since he is a major) at Amnesia Pub, Jubilee Hills, pub finalised the arrangement.
The accused from Bangalore published a post on Instagram stating, ‘Euphoria party on May 28 at 1 PM on May 19. “On May 25, he travelled to Hyderabad and along with this group paid a total sum of Rs 1 lakh as advance to the pub. The victim also paid 1300 rupees as an entry ticket and went to the pub at 1 PM on May 28,” CV Anand said. narrated.
The Commissioner said that the police struggled to get the victim to talk and reveal details as part of the investigation.
“Where we struggled was, that the victim didn’t inform her parents until May 31. But on suspicion after observing marks on her body, the parents approached the police and spoke to the DCP. Immediately a case was registered at Jubilee Hills police station. The victim was sent to a Bharosa centre because she wasn’t giving out any details,” explained the Hyderabad commissioner.
Anand added that at the Bharosa centre, after Additional DCP Sireesha and others spoke to the victim for hours and provided her with the confidence, she slowly started revealing the details.
“She was sent to Nilofuer hospital for medical checkups and legal procedures were done. The investigation began and during the process, she could only identify one person out of the group,” the commissioner said.
The assault
Anand said that on May 28, at 1:10 pm, the victim along with one of the accused went to the pub and danced along until 1: 50 pm. “After that, he left to somewhere for some other commitment. The victim stayed back at the pub along with another friend of hers. At 3:15, another CCL approached her along with Saduddin malik and they behaved badly with her,” he added.
At 5:10 pm, due to increased molestation, she felt uncomfortable, and at 5:40 pm, left along with her friend to the pub to escape the bad treatment. All the juveniles, who reached there by 3 pm, according to the CCTV footage, planned the conspiracy in the meantime,” the commissioner said.
Post that, the accused followed her outside the pub. The victim’s friend had left her house after booking a cab. The CCLs trapped her after speaking to her. At 5:43 pm, the four juveniles along with the victim got into a Mercedes car to go to the Concu bakery. At the same time, four others (Saduddin Malik and three CCLs) got into an Innova car.
Insomnia pub is at Road no 36, Jubilee Hills while travelling to the bakery at Road no 14 Banjara Hills, in rotation, started kissing the victim one after the other forcibly,” he said. The Hyderabad police commissioner also said that the videos that are in circulation online, were taken by the accused and were passed around by them.
“They reached the bakery at 5: 51 pm and at 5: 54 pm, the victim got down from the Mercedes and got into the Innova. At 5: 57 pm, both cars were parked in the parking area. at 6:15 pm, the Innova left the bakery. In the Innova, accused one, Saduddin Malik along with five other CCLs and the victim, a total of seven, left the bakery. At 6:18 pm, one accused out of the lot returned due to a phone call or other reasons,” said Anand.
After that, the rest of the accused along with the victim went to Road no 44, behind Peddamma temple, in a desolate dark area, where the first accused (minor) raped her there. After that, by rotation, the rest of the four also raped her.
“In this process, the victim suffered severe injuries in the neck and other areas of her body. At 7: 51 pm, the Innova returned to the pub, and the victim was dropped there. She called her father and at 7:51 pm, he arrived and picked her up from the spot,” CV Anand said.
The Hyderabad police commissioner informed that the investigation in the case is complete. The five individuals who were directly involved in the rape are charged with gang rape, causing hurt, under POCSO Act, aggravated penetrative sexual assault, kidnapping by inducing, kidnapping of a minor, and 67 of the IT Act (circulating videos).
“The courts can give them the punishment of either a total of 20 years behind bars or imprisonment for life till death or it could even be the death penalty. Strong evidence is available with us against them. A fine of a reasonable amount to be paid to the victim to meet medical expenses and rehabilitation can also be levied by the court,” CV Anand further said.
On the sixth juvenile who wasn’t involved in the penetrative sexual assault but in forcible kissing in the car, sections of 354 IPC, 323 IPC, Section 9 (g) read with section 10 of the POCSO Act (aggravated gang sexual assault) and the punishment can be minimum of 5 to 7 years imprisonment, Anand said.
The Commissioner also said that a report on the Amnesia pub is sent to the excise department and they will take action according to the rules.
The police had stated that the accused are Class 11 and 12 students, belonging to “politically influential” families. On June 3, Joel Davis, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) West Zone, stated that an MLA’s son is believed to be part of the group, but he may not have been involved in the gang rape.
NCW seeks a detailed report from Telangana DGP on steps taken to ensure women’s safety
Expressing concern over the “increasing” rate of heinous crimes against girls and women in Hyderabad district, the National Commission for Women (NCW) has asked Telangana police to directly intervene in the matter and send a detailed report on the steps taken by the state to ensure safety and security of females.
The NCW, in a statement, said it has come across an article that reported that five cases of rape against minor girls were reported in Hyderabad in a week.
The Commission said it has taken serious note of the “increasing rate of heinous” crimes against girls and women in the Hyderabad district of Telangana.
“The role of the police is not only to protect and prevent crimes but also to take swift and appropriate action in such matters. Therefore, the Commission has taken cognisance of the matter,” the NCW said.
NCW Chairperson Rekha Sharma has written to the Director-General of Police, Telangana to directly intervene in the matter and to send a detailed report within seven days on the steps taken by the state to ensure the safety and security of girls and women so that such incidents can be prevented in future.
BJP MLA booked for leaking video of the victim
The Abids police have booked a case against a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Raghunandan Rao for allegedly revealing the identity of a survivor in a minor gang rape case. The case was booked under Section 228A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Last week, during a press meet, the BJP MLA had shown a video and a picture of a woman in an intimate position with a person, alleging that three other persons including the son of an AIMIM MLA is seen in the video.
Raghunandan Rao then stated it is “proof” that the son of an AIMIM party MLA was present in one of the cars with the victim and the police were reportedly trying to shield the MLA’s son in the case.
