Hyderabad minor gangrape: Fifth accused still at large

The Hyderabad police are probing the role of a GHMC corporator in aiding the boys accused of raping a 17-year-old girl in a MUV escape from the city after the crime.

Three of the five offenders are juveniles, with connections to highly influential political families from the old city. The BJP has accused the Hyderabad police of protecting another boy, the son of an AIMIM MLA.

While the horrific incident took place on 28 May, an FIR was registered only on 31 May. And the horrid details of the case became public six days later, on Friday. The girl who went for an alcohol-free, daytime party at an upscale pub in Jubilee Hills was befriended by the accused, who later sexually assaulted her in a high-end luxury car.

The Hyderabad police, which is accused of a shoddy movement in the case by the opposition parties, could till Sunday arrest one Saduddin Malik (18) and apprehend three juveniles. The fifth accused Umer Khan is yet to be caught.

Revealing some photos and videos from inside the Mercedes Benz, the T-BJP has alleged the involvement of another boy – the son of AIMIM MLA from the old city.

The police could finally trace the Innova car to a farmhouse at Moinabad near Hyderabad on Saturday night. The car in which the rape took place was reportedly allocated for the official use of a top Waqf Board official related to one of the accused boys. Soon after the rape, the offenders were also taken to the farmhouse under the supervision of the said corporator. Attempts were made to erase all the evidence from the car, local reports stated.

DH tried to reach the investigating officials for confirmation on the developments in the case but there was no response.

Meanwhile, AIMIM supremo Asaduddin Owaisi reacted to the incident which has put his party's public representatives under the scanner.

“The law will take its own course, that is all I will say,” Owaisi said in response to reporters' questions. The Hyderabad MP acknowledged the minor rape as a heinous crime while refusing to comment further on the alleged involvement of the sons of his party MLA and other leaders.