Fourth accused arrested in Jubilee Hills gangrape case, one still absconding

HYDERABAD: Telangana Police on Sunday arrested the fourth accused in connection with the alleged gang-rape of a teenage girl in Hyderabad's Jubilee Hills last week.

Three of the four arrested accused are juveniles.

Inspector Jubilee Hills S Rajashekhar Reddy said, "Police arrest fourth accused in the matter. One more accused has been taken into custody, and now a total of four accused have been arrested." The fifth accused is still absconding.

Telangana Home Minister Mohammed Mahmood Ali has promised that no leniency is being adopted in the Hyderabad gang-rape case while also clarifying that the state police department works without pressure and does not spare the culprits.

The Jubilee Hills police on Saturday arrested two suspects, both juveniles in connection with the gang rape case of a minor girl late last month. Sources said one of the minor accused in the case was arrested in Nellore on Saturday, amid allegations that those involved in the incident were being allowed to flee the city.

Following the arrest of accused Sadudin Malik on Friday evening, the Jubilee Hills police placed two juveniles under arrest on Saturday morning. West Zone DCP Joel Davis said they were being produced before the juvenile court for safe custody.

“We had to arrest the two on Saturday morning as Supreme Court guidelines state that the police cannot arrest a minor post sunset. So far, out of the five suspects, three are apprehended. The remaining accused, Umair Khan and another juvenile, are still absconding and efforts are on to nab them,” the DCP said.

Eight teams have been formed with personnel from CCS, task force and the city police, to trace and nab Umair Khan and the other juvenile involved in the case. The police had no leads on them yet, sources said. Sources said they did not coordinate before escaping.

Sources close to the investigation revealed that the gang did not plan where and how to escape. “We questioned the arrested about the other two but in vain. They seem to have escaped without a plan and scattered. One of the juveniles was caught from Nellore on Saturday, while the other accused, who is the son of a prominent political leader, was caught from the city,” sources said, adding that one lead in the case would land the rest behind bars.

The DCP explained that the police had identified five culprits in the case with the help of CC cameras and other technical evidence which was verified thoroughly by the police teams and was also corroborated with the statement of the victim.

On the evening of May 28, a party, by the name of ‘Euphoria’, was held at Amnesia pub after it was announced on Instagram by one Osman Ali Khan. The pub reportedly dispersed the crowd at 5 pm, following which the accused offered to drop the victim home. CCTV cameras showed her leaving the pub at 5.30 pm. The gang is said to have first stopped at a bakery and then shifted into another vehicle in which she was sexually assaulted.

Timeline

May 28

1 pm: Party at Amnesia pub started with about 200 students, including minors, hosted by Usmaan Ali Khan.

5 pm: Music was stopped, the place was vacated.

5.30 pm: Victim leave the place with the five suspects in a Mercedes car.

5.30 to 7.30 pm: They stopped by a pastry shop, changed cars. The victim was allegedly raped by two of the accused while three of them stood guard.

7.30 pm: Victim went back to the pub to collect her jacket and left within 5 minutes.

May 31: Victim’s father approached the Jubilee Hills police alleging sexual assault.

June 1: Victim was sent for counselling at Bharosa Centre.

June 2: Victim shared about the rape.

June 3: Five accused were identified; one of them, Sadudin Malik, was arrested.

June 4: Two more accused, both juveniles, arrested.