Jubilee Hills gang-rape: 2 arrested, cops say a politician's son involved

Hyderabad: Two accused in the Jubilee Hills gang-rape case have been arrested by the Hyderabad police. The other three accused are yet to be arrested.

West zone DCP Joel Davis said of the five accused, two are minors. One of those arrested on Friday is 18-year-old Saduddin Malik.

"Another juvenile has not been arrested since it is night. He will be arrested on Saturday morning. Another major is Omair Khan who has not been arrested. The minors are in the age group of 16-17. Irrespective of their affiliation, we will catch all the culprits within 48 hours," said Mr. Davis.

According to the DCP, the victim's father reached out to the police and explained that his daughter was in shock ever since the incident. He told the police that she might have been sexually assaulted.

"As per standard operations, she was counseled and sent to the Bharosa center. There she revealed that she had been raped. As soon as we received the information (four days after the incident), we altered the FIR and started looking for the accused," said the DCP.

The girl could not identify the five culprits as they had not revealed their names. "She only remembered one person's name," said the DCP, and added that the victim said there were five culprits. He said when she gets better and reveals that there were more people involved, then action will be taken against them as well.

With the help of call records and CCTV footage, the police were able to identify all the five culprits.

The DCP also clarified that the Home minister's grandson was not involved in the incident and said it was a baseless allegation. "No MLA's son was involved. Criminal action will be taken against those who are spreading baseless rumors without consulting the police department," said the DCP.

While the DCP confirmed that a politician's son was involved, he has not yet been arrested and also, he is a juvenile. He also said the police are not sure if alcohol was served to the minors at Amnesia & Insomnia Pub where the victim had attended a birthday party. "There was no influence of alcohol as per the victim's statement," said the DCP.

He said the victim and the accused had gone to a pastry shop from the pub before the crime took place. The DCP also revealed that the girl was raped in an Innova.

The 17-year-old girl was returning from a party when she was allegedly sexually assaulted by a group of youngsters in a moving vehicle in the Jubilee Hills area in the city on Saturday. The son of an influential person was allegedly involved in the incident along with four others.

The police had earlier registered a case under section 354 (outrage of modesty), 323(voluntarily causing hurt) of the IPC, and under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act against the accused. The girl was sent for medical examination and after she was found raped, the police altered the case and added section 376 (gang rape) of the IPC.

According to the FIR, on the afternoon of 28 May, his daughter went to a party at Amnesia & Insomnia Pub located on Road No. 36, Jubilee Hills. The party was hosted by her friends. At about 5.30 p.m, a few guys in a red Mercedes took her out of the pub and misbehaved with her. They also inflicted minor injuries on her neck. The party was held by the victim's friends- Suraj and Hadi.

The police initially registered a case of "outraging the modesty" based on a complaint lodged by the victim's family three days ago. The investigators sent the girl for medical examination. When the woman officers at the Bharosa centre interacted with the minor, she reportedly revealed the sexual assault.