65-yr-old Andhra man allegedly rapes two minors in panchayat building, held
Yet another case of sexual assault came to light in Andhra Pradesh on Sunday as the Srikalahasthi Rural police in Chittoor district arrested a 65-year-old man on charges of raping two minor girls.
The accused was identified as Subbaiah Naidu, a labourer. The victims were aged 5 and 7.
Speaking to TNM, Srikalahasti Rural Inspector Sudarshan Prasad said, "The incident took place in the afternoon of May 11. Since it was the summer holidays, the children were playing outside when the accused lured them into the panchayat building with some kind of toffee and sexually assaulted them inside."
The girls along with their parents filed a complaint on May 12, following which a case was registered and the accused was arrested.
"We have taken statements from the accused and the survivors’ families. The survivors also gave their statements to women police officers. A case has been filed under Section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the POCSO Act," the Inspector added.
The investigation of the case is being led by Srikalahasti Deputy Superintendent of Police Venkata Kishore.
This came a day after it was reported that a 14-year-old minor girl was allegedly repeatedly raped and impregnated in a town in Guntur district.
The incident came to light when the girl and her family lodged a complaint with the Dachepalli police on Saturday and the accused was identified as 43-year-old Mahbub Vali, a local TDP leader.
The girl was sent to the Gurazala Government Hospital for a medical test.
The police have registered a case under Sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC and relevant sections of the POCSO Act.
This was the second such incident to be reported from the same area, with the first one triggering protests across the state.
Speaking after leading a protest rally earlier this week, TDP chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had said, “The Dachepalli incident should be the last one and for those resorting to such crimes, it will be their last day on the earth. Everyone should condemn such incidents. Change in the mindset of the people is the need of the hour. We should respect women."
Calling for publicly hanging the rapists, Naidu had also said that his government would be tough in dealing with such criminals.
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