Disha to the rescue: 2 accused of sexually assaulting Lithuanian woman sentenced in record time

Nellore: Two youths were sentenced to 14 years in prison for attempting to sexually assault a Lithuanian woman in March 2022 near the Rapur forest area near Sydapuram. The Andhra Pradesh police arrested the two after a case was registered and completed the charge sheet within seven days under the state's flagship Disha Act. The case was held in fast-track mode and the trial was completed in 13 days.

The incident happened on 8 March around 2:30 p.m and both the accused were arrested the same evening at 6 p.m.

Ingilala Sai Kumar (28) and Syed Mohammad Abid (26) were convicted by the Eighth Additional District and Sessions Court, Nellore, after examining 28 witnesses in the court. A fine of Rs. 15,000 was also imposed against the accused.

Reacting to the judgment, the Lithuanian woman thanked the Andhra Pradesh police for speedy trial resulting in the conviction of the accused.

What happened?

On 7 March, before visiting India, the Lithuanian woman went to Sri Lanka. She then came to Chennai and then boarded a bus for Bengaluru to go to Goa. However, the bus authorities refused to accept dollars for the bus ticket and asked her to get off the bus. She then met Ingilala Sai Kumar of Venkannapalem village in Gudur mandal who offered her Indian currency to buy a ticket to Bengaluru.

Once they reached Bengaluru, the woman withdrew some cash and returned the money to Sai Kumar. The man then proposed to help her reach Goa and took her to Venkannapalem. Kumar called his friend Syed Abid and the two took her to an isolated place in the Rapur forest area in Sydapuram and tried to sexually assault her. After the woman screamed for help, some locals came to help her. The two men fled the spot immediately.