TIRUPATI: The Prakasam district police arrested six men on Sunday for confining and raping a minor girl in Ongole. Three of the rapists were minors themselves.
According to the Prakasam district superintendent of police, Siddharth Kaushal, the Shakti team members and police constables who were on duty at an RTC bus stand found a girl lying in a helpless condition on Saturday night. They discovered on speaking to her that she had arrived in Ongole on June 16 and since then had been raped multiple times by a gang of six men.
The police shifted her to a hospital for treatment, recorded her statement and registered a case.
Mr Kaushal told mediapersons on Sunday that the 17-year-old girl had recently made friends with a man identified as Ammisetty Ramu, a cab driver from Ongole. The two exchanged mobile numbers and used to talk over the phone. The girl’s mother objected to this and warned her daughter to stay away from him.
However, the girl left home and reached Ongole at 7 pm on June 16. She couldn't contact Ramu from the bus stand as she had no charge on her mobile. She approached a person called Shaik Baji, 20, who works at KR Mobile Phone Shop near platform number 24, at around 11 pm, and requested him to allow her to make a phone call to Ramu. After a brief chat, Shaik Baji sexually assaulted her in the shop and left her in the bus stand.
He returned at around 2.30 am on June 18 along with his friends Srikanth Reddy, 23, and a minor, who convinced the girl to go to their room by offering her shelter and food.
They took her to the room, which was situated on the first floor of Sri Satya Keerthi Medical near Chandamama Hospital, and sexually assaulted her. On June 19, at around 8.30 am the trio left the room, locking her inside and later gave the room key to one P. Mahesh, 19, and two minors, who also raped her several times.
Early on Saturday one of the minors in the gang dropped her at the RTC bus stand at around 3 am, where she was found by the police.
Following the information given by the minor girl, the police arrested all the six involved in the case and have sent them to remand on Sunday.
AP home minister M. Sucharita called Mr Kaushal and instructed him to ensure the accused are punished severely. Minister Balineni Srinivasa Rao said that the government would not spare anyone who commits crimes against women and children.
