The BJP in Telangana has been demanding the arrest of the minor son of an AIMIM MLA in connection with the gang-rape of a 17-year-old in a car. However, the Hyderabad police say that a preliminary probe indicates that the MLA’s son may not have been inside the car when the sexual assault took place. The police have been looking into CCTV footage to trace those involved in the crime and to establish the sequence of events, and have found that the MLA’s son had left the group that later allegedly assaulted the girl.
While the BJP has insisted that the MLA’s son is involved in the rape case, the police say the evidence indicates differently. According to the police, the group left the Hyderabad pub with the girl on May 28 in a Mercedes, and went to a pastry shop. At the pastry shop, the AIMIM MLA’s son left the spot after receiving a call. From the pastry shop, the rest of the group shifted into an Innova car, which was registered under the Waqf Board. It is here that the police say the minor was sexually assaulted allegedly by the group of boys.
Out of the five accused already identified, an 18-year old man was arrested on June 3. Totally, three persons, including two juveniles, have been taken into custody so far in the case. On Saturday, June 4, the BJP insisted that the AIMIM MLA’s son be booked, and BJP MLA M Raghunandan Rao at a press conference held up some photographs alleging that it showed the AIMIM MLA's son's 'involvement' in the case. A video taken from inside the car, apparently by someone sitting in the front passenger seat, was also released by the BJP MLA, potentially compromising the identity of the minor survivor as well as the other minors, in conflict with law.
The police further said that the girl’s complaint also does not mention the AIMIM MLA’s son, but since there is some pressure from the BJP over the MLA’s son’s involvement, the police are likely to ask the minor survivor again if she can identify the MLA's son as one of the assaulters.
The complaint had said that five people sexually assaulted the minor in a car after they left from the Amnesia and Insomnia pub premises in Jubilee Hills in Hyderabad. The survivor was said to be attending a college party hosted by her friends, where she is said to have met the alleged perpetrators.
The opposition BJP and Congress have demanded that the TRS government hand over the investigation in the case to the CBI to ensure an impartial probe. In an open letter to Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, state BJP president and MP, Bandi Sanjay Kumar said that it is the “minimum responsibility” of the state government to conduct a CBI inquiry when allegations surfaced about the involvement of family members of those belonging to AIMIM, a party friendly to the ruling TRS.