Visakhapatnam: Two minor girls from the Primitive Tribal Group (PTG) were allegedly gangraped by a group of eight persons near Tajangi area under Chintapalle police station limits in Vizag Agency. Though the shocking crime took place near a school on the night of May 20, it came to light only on Monday, May 22 when the news spread like wildfire in Vizag Agency. Quickly, local leaders hushed up the matter through village elders.
The victims finally approached the police on Monday morning and lodged a complaint against the accused persons. Among them was the son of a local politician and the son of a police constable. The police have formed two teams to nab the accused and so far they have identified two prime accused in the case. It happened this way. The two girls along with two boys, had gone to attend the Pothuraju-babula (who is the local deity) festival held at Tajangi on May 20. Thousands of people attended the festival from all over, including Narsipatnam region. At around 10 pm, when the girls were watching a cultural show, suddenly a thunderstorm interrupted the programme. Both the girls along with the boys fled from the pouring rain and took shelter in a school building.
K. Varun, son of the local MPTC of TD, K. Angadha Rao, saw the girls and boys going to the school building and he called his seven friends, including L. Nagendra, son of head constable L. Ganesh. The eight youngsters, led by Varun and Nagendra, thrashed the two boys, who had accompanied the girls and after that some of them raped the girls. Sources said that when the girls raised an alarm, some people, including the villagers, rushed to the school building. But the accused persons attacked them and rushed away from the spot after committing the crime.
Sensing trouble and a police case, Angadha Rao swung into action on Sunday and called for a panchayat. Sources also said that the relatives of the victims agreed to a settlement. Both the girls were sent home in a vehicle and Angadha Rao agreed to pay Rs 25,000 to each. Later, they called all the accused and admonished them.
