Hyderabad: The Asifabad police on Saturday filed a chargesheet in the gangrape and murder case of Samatha. The charge-sheet was filed less than two days after the government set up a special court in Adilabad.
The government designated the Fifth Additional Sessions Court of Adilabad district for the speedy trial of the accused.
According to the police on November 24, days before Hyderabad-based veterinarian Disha (name changed) was gang-raped and murdered, Samatha (name changed), 30 hailing from Nirmal district’s Khanapur area was also gang-raped and murdered allegedly by three men in Lingapur mandal of Asifabad district.
According to officials, over 40 persons, including a few policemen, were named as witnesses.
On November 25, the police found the body of the woman between Ramnayaktanda and Ellapatar villages.
Police arrested Shaik Babu, 35, Shaik Shaboddin, 30, and Shaik Mukdum, 40, the same day. They were remanded to judicial custody.
Last week, the police took the accused into custody in order to collect DNA samples that were sent to the forensic laboratory in Hyderabad.
A police official said that the DNA and forensic science reports from Hyderabad arrived on Friday. The DNA samples had matched with the accused, he said.
The 30-year-old woman and her husband were earning a livelihood by selling balloons and other supplies in the neighbouring villages of Lingapur and Jainoor mandals.
According to police, the three accused found her when she was on her way to another village and gang-raped her and then murdered her. The accused cut her fingers using a sickle meant for chopping chicken, when she pleaded with them to leave her alone and then slit her throat.
Earlier, the family of the victim and Dalit organisations had accused politicians and the media of caste bias for ignoring Samatha’s case
Youth sexually assaults minor
A 14-year-old minor girl was sexually assaulted by an accused under Chatrinaka police station limits on Saturday afternoon.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Chatrinaka inspector R. Vidya Sagar Reddy, said, “At around 2:30 pm on Saturday, the accused telephoned the victim saying his sister was calling her. Believing his words, the minor girl victim went to his residence. The accused was alone at the residence at the time and forced himself onto her. After some time, she escaped and rushed to her residence crying”.
The victim informed her mother about the incident, who approached Chatrinaka police station and lodged a complaint against the accused.
A case has been booked under section 376 IPC and relevant sections of the POCSO Act. Efforts are on to nab the accused, whose details have not divulged by police, as there is no confirmation yet on his age.
