One more held in Hyderabad gang-rape case

Hyderabad: Telangana Police on Saturday arrested the second accused, who is a juvenile and one of the main culprits, in connection with the alleged gang rape of a teenage girl in Hyderabad's Jubilee Hills last week.

So far, two accused have been apprehended in the Hyderabad rape case. One accused, identified as Saduddin Malik, was arrested yesterday.

Five men, including three juveniles, were said to be involved in the gang rape of a 17-year-old girl, which came to light on Thursday. One of the juveniles is the son of a TRS leader and chairman of a religious board.

DCP, West Zone, Joel Davis said the police had arrested one Saddudin Malik, 18, son of Malik Ghulam Shaji. Efforts are on to nab the others, he added. Another accused was identified as Umair Khan.

Denying reports of the involvement of an MIM MLA’s son and the grandson of the home minister, the DCP said their names had not come up during the investigation.

Explaining the case, the DCP said the minor girl had gone to attend a party at Amnesia pub at Jubilee Hills on the evening of May 29, in which about 200 people were present.

During the investigation, it was revealed that the accused had picked up the victim in a red Mercedes from the pub in the guise of dropping her home and took her to a pastry shop nearby. “From the pastry shop, the five men took the victim in another car, stopped the SUV in an isolated area and sexually assaulted her,” said the DCP.

“The party was announced on Instagram and the management ensured no alcohol or smoking was allowed inside. Following a complaint from the victim’s father on May 31, the Jubilee Hills police booked a case under Section 354 (outraging women’s modesty) of the IPC and sections of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and the officials sent the girl for medical examination,” the official said.

“When the woman officers at the Bharosa Centre interacted with the minor, she revealed the sexual assault. The case was then altered to rape,” Davis said, adding that by then four days had passed since the incident.

He said the victim was only able to name one of the accused, following which Hyderabad police commissioner C.V. Anand deputed teams from the Task Force and CCS to assist the investigation teams. Davis said the police gathered technical evidence, analysed call data records (CRD) and CCTV footage, and corroborated it with the victim’s statement.”

“On Friday morning, we identified five suspects and placed Sadudin Malik, son of is Malik Ghulam Shaji from Uppalguda, under arrest. We could not arrest a juvenile on Friday as per the Supreme Court guidelines that we cannot arrest a minor after sunset. He will be arrested on Saturday morning,” Davis said.

Asked about the pub’s violation in allowing minors, the DCP said the Excise officials were alerted to check for the same.

“Our focus was on identifying and catching the men involved in the case. The Excise officials will check the pub for violations. However, the role of alcohol was ruled out during the investigation,” Davis said.