Rapes in Hyderabad involving minors unsettle citizens across state

Three of the rape cases—including the Jubilee Hills gang rape—happened in the last four days of May

Citizens of the twin cities were left shaken as more rapes of underaged girls were coming to light. Four more rapes—where underaged girls were the victims—were reported, even as the city was recovering from the shock of the teenage girl’s gang rape in Jubilee Hills.

Another minor girl’s gang rape came to light in Secunderabad, close on the heels of the Jubilee Hills pub-Mercedes Benz case. Like in the high-profile gang rape case, two of the five accused in the Secunderabad case were juveniles. According to the police, the 16-year-old victim had met the accused through Instagram.

“The offenders took advantage and sexually exploited her, taking her to hotel rooms in different parts of the city on at least two occasions in March. The girl was in a depressed state for some weeks and the parents finally approached us last week,” B Ramesh, Assistant Commissioner of Police (North Zone) told DH.

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The girl was only able to record her statement after intense counselling. A case was registered under IPC Section 376 (gangrape) with the Karkhana police on May 30, and the accused were arrested on June 1. Three of the accused—Ritesh, Dheeraj and one another—were in judicial remand, while the children in conflict with the law were lodged in a juvenile home.

The girl was allegedly drugged and was forced to comply after they threatened to circulate her intimate pictures on social media.

In another incident, a 16-year-old orphaned student who was living in a care centre was sexually assaulted after being lured into a car by an acquaintance. The incident took place on April 20 at Necklace Road, where the girl attended a friend’s birthday party along with some other friends. The hostel staff only came to know of the rape after the girl complained of health issues. Based on a complaint from her guardians, a case was registered, and the accused, a 23-year-old man, was arrested, Ramgopalpet police said.

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On May 31, another minor girl was gang-raped case, by a cab driver and his friend. The accused, 36-year-old Shaik Kaleem Ali kidnapped the girl, who was walking alone to her home in Pahadishereef, on the pretext of dropping her. Ali then took her to a house in Kondurg village near Hyderabad which belonged to his friend Mohammed Luqman Ahmed. The two then raped her, and later dropped her off in the same area the next morning.

After recording the girl’s statement, the Hyderabad south zone police filed a gang rape case and arrested the two.

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Another crime occurred on May 30, in which a 21-year-old event worker, Mohd Sufiyan, raped a cloth-shop sales executive after taking her to his house in Langar Houz.

Three of the above-mentioned rape cases—including the Jubilee Hills pub-Mercedes Benz gang rape—happened in the last four days of May. The Karkhana rape occurred in March, and the Necklace Road rape in mid-April—making the frequency of rapes a cause for alarm and raising concerns about women’s safety.

Taking cognizance of the minors’ rapes in Hyderabad, National Commission for Women chairperson Rekha Sharma wrote to Telangana Director General of Police Mahender Reddy on Tuesday. In her letter, Sharma asked for a detailed report on the cases within a week and also steps taken to ensure safety and security of girls and women “so as such incidents are prevented in future.”