A 17-year-old girl on May 28 was gangraped by a group of minors and a major at Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad. The victim along with one of her friends attended a party organised by one of the accused from Bangalore, the posters of the party were posted on Instagram stating, ‘Euphoria Party’ on May 28 at 1 PM. However, the victim’s friend later left her while she stayed back at the pub along with other friends of hers. After a while CCLs (Child in Conflict with Laws) approached her along with Saduddin Malik and behaved inappropriately with her.
As the molestation became worse, survivor felt uncomfortable and walked out of the pub. “Meanwhile inside the pub, the CCLs involved had gotten together with their friends. It looked like they had their plan and conspired together there itself, based on the CCTV footage,” informed Hyderabad Commissioner of Police C.V. Anand.
The boys followed the survivor out of the pub and approached the survivor, talked to her and trapped her. Around 6 in the evening the victim along with four CCLs got into a Mercedes car to go to a bakery. At the same time, four others – Saduddin and three CCLs – got into an Innova. On the way the four CCLs in the Mercedes took turns and forcefully kissed the survivor. The Commissioner said they themselves recorded videos of this and later circulated them. He said those who assaulted her had internal differences and had recorded videos of each other to possibly use them later as leverage on the others.
After they reached the bakery the survivor got down from the Mercedes and got into the Innova and also the others who were in the Mercedes with her also got into the Innova. After a while the Innova left the bakery along with Saduddin Malik, five other CCLs, and the survivor was in it.
The CCLs took the survivor behind the Peddamma temple, where it was dark and there wasn’t much traffic. The survivor was sexually assaulted by the five individuals here, and sustained injuries on the neck. Later they dropped the victim back at the pub. The survivor then called her father. On May 31 evening, she told her parents vaguely about the incident. Her parents saw injury marks on her neck and approached the police. “A case was registered at Jubilee Hills police station on May 31 night under sections 9 and 10 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012. As she couldn’t share further details, she was sent to a Bharosa centre where a few women police officers spoke with her for a while, after which the survivor revealed further details slowly,” informed the Commissioner.
After the victims medical examination and checking of CCTV, the minors were held and are now sent to remand.
The five persons who allegedly raped the survivor have been booked under sections 376D (gangrape) and 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) of the IPC, and sections 5(g) (gang penetrative sexual assault on a child) read with section 6 of the POCSO Act. They have also been booked under Sections 366 (kidnapping a woman), 366A (procuration of a minor girl), and Section 67 in The Information Technology Act for circulating the videos from the car.
“The punishment for the five persons involved in the rape will be not less than 20 years, and they might be awarded imprisonment for life till death or the death penalty, the Commissioner said. The trial will happen in a special court, and the police have strong evidence, he added. For the one CCL who is accused of sexual assault, a minimum five to seven years of imprisonment will apply, the Commissioner said.
A report on the pub has been sent to the Excise department, the Commissioner said. He also said that the police licensing system as per the City Police Act, for public places of amusement and entertainment after 10 pm had been stopped for about four to five years, but it may have to be implemented for pubs again to avoid nuisance and anti-social activities.
Speaking to the media, Telangana Home Minister Md. Mohamood Ali said, “In this growing modernisation where every hand owns a mobile today, parents must control their children and must teach them right and wrong.” If girls are boys are moving freely with no restrictions such cases would remain keep growing, he added.