8 men barge into Meerpet house, rape 15-year-old orphan girl: Telangana Police
8 men barge into Meerpet house : The girl and her 14-year-old brother have lost their parents and recently moved in with their cousin in Meerpet
HYDERABAD: Eight men barged into a house on the outskirts of Hyderabad and three of them raped a 15-year-old girl on Monday, triggering angry protests by opposition leaders who demanded stringent punishment for the accused.
The girl and her 14-year-old brother have lost their parents and moved in with her cousin in Meerpet, a few weeks ago. They were at home with three other children from the neighbourhood on Monday morning when the eight men armed with knives forced their way into the house.
“Three of them took the girl upstairs, while others threatened her brother and the other children at knifepoint. The three men took turns to rape her,” a police officer said.
As news of the brutal crime spread, a large number of people including Congress workers led by Meerpet mayor Parijatha Reddy blocked the main road near the house of the rape survivor to protest. Police later said Reddy and other party leaders were placed under arrest and shifted to the Amberpet police station. Police personnel have been deployed to prevent any breakdown of law and order.
Rachakonda police commissioner DS Chauhan also came to the spot.
LB Nagar deputy commissioner of police (DCP) B Sai Sree said seven special police teams have been constituted to apprehend the accused. “We have registered a case of gangrape on a minor and also under relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act,” she said.
The girl has been sent to Sakhi centre for medical examination and recording her version, the DCP added.
The accused fled the spot after the girl started crying for help. Immediately, her brother alerted the neighbours and they, in turn, informed the police. “We have examined the closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras to track down the accused. We are yet to apprehend them. We are also investigating whether they had any previous enmity with the victim’s family,” the police officer said.
The girl’s younger brother, who filed a formal complaint with the Meerpet police, said they initially lived with their parents in south Hyderabad’s Lal Bazar area and came to live with their cousin after being orphaned. The boy said he worked at a flex board shop while his sister worked as a salesgirl at a textile shop in Dilsukhnagar.
Meanwhile, a 13-year-old girl was found dead on the outskirts of N Gollapalli village in Andhra Pradesh’s Prakasam district on Tuesday. Police said the girl’s face and head were crushed with stones. She was carrying a bag with her textbooks and notebooks. Police suspect she was sexually assaulted before being killed. Further details are awaited.
