Hyderabad: Hyderabad Commissioner CV Anand on Tuesday informed that a total of 5 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) and one is a major, Saduddin Malik.
One more juvenile who was part of sexual assault (forcible kissing) but not penetrative rape is found and is presently under custody he said. “Another accused is still absconding,” he further informed.
“The fourth juvenile was absconding but is under our custody and will be sent to juvenile court,” he said.
“We didn’t have the footage of what happened in the car until the BJP released the video,” the Commissioner said.
The Commissioner also put out the sequence of events that took place as part of the incident.
“One minor accused based out of Bangalore asked his friends to look out for a pub in Hyderabad to organize a nonalcohol-nonsmoking party. The friends with the help of the manager Kunal and another friend Osman Ali Khan (major) at the Insomnia, Jubilee Hills pub finalized the arrangement. The Bangalore minor published a post ‘Euphoria party on May 28 at 1 PM’ on Instagram in the second week of May.
On May 25, he traveled 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,” he 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. Even there, after Additional DCP Sireesha and others 3-4 hours of speaking to her and providing her with the confidence, she slowly started revealing the details,” CV Anand said.
“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.
“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. At 5:10, due to increased molestation, she felt uncomfortable, and at 5:40, 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. The Insomnia pub is at Road no 36, Jubilee Hills while traveling to the bakery at Road no 14 Banjara Hills, in rotation, started kissing the victim one after the other forcibly,” he said.
The 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, both the cars were parked in the parking area. at 6:15 PM, the Innova left the bakery. In the Innova, A1 Saduddin Malik along with five other CCLs and the victim, a total of seven left the bakery. At 6:18, one CCL out of the lot returned due to a phone call or other reasons. The rest of the accused along with the victim went to Road no 44, behind Peddamma temple, in a desolate dark area, the first CCL raped her there. After that, by rotation, the rest of the four raped her,” he informed.
“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 Commissioner informed that the investigation in the case is complete. A1 Saduddin Malik and the four CCLs.
The five individuals who were directly involved in rape are charged with 376d (gang rape), 323 (causing hurt), POCSO act 5g read with Section 6 (Aggravated penetrative sexual assault), 366 (Kidnapping by inducing), 366 (a) kidnapping of a minor, 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,” Hyderabad Commissioner said.
“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,” he 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 9g read with section 10 of the POCSO Act (Aggravated gang sexual assault) and the punishment can be minimum of 5 to 7 years imprisonment,” he said.
“The trial of the case will be conducted in a special court,” he further 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, allegedly 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.
Hyderabad rape: Journalists booked for publishing videos of victim
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.
Soon after the video clip was released, it went viral on social media platforms and the act of the BJP MLA drew a lot of criticism from various quarters.
