Hyderabad rape case: 6 persons including MLA’s son arrested, government vehicle used in crime

The son and another relative of an MLA of the AIMIM are among the six accused arrested by Hyderabad Police in the sensational case of gang rape of a 17-year-old girl in a car on May 28.

While four accused were already arrested, the police on Tuesday night announced the arrest of two others, including the MLA’s son.

While five accused, including a major, were involved in penetrative sex with the victim, the sixth, a juvenile, and the son of an MLA has been booked for molestation.

Four juveniles involved in gang rape include the son of a leader of the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), who heads a government body, and a relative of the MIM MLA. Police found the crime was also committed in an Innova vehicle hired for government duty. The vehicle was later seized from the farmhouse of the TRS leader.

The police had earlier said that out of five accused, three were juveniles. Police Commissioner CV Anand, however, told a news conference on Tuesday night that one of the accused, who was earlier reported to be a major, was a month short of 18.

Stating that they have strong evidence against those committed the gang rape, the police chief said they would be tried in a special court and they could face punishment for not less than 20 years, or imprisonment for life till death, or even the death penalty.

The five accused have been booked under the Indian Penal Code’s Sections 376 D (gang rape), 323 (causing hurt), Section 5 (G) (gang penetrative sexual assault on a child), read with Section 6 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, as well as the IPC’s 366 (kidnapping a woman) and 366 A (procuration of a minor girl) and Section 67 of the Information Technology Act.