Telangana: 14 arrested for gangrape of tribal girl

Fourteen persons have been arrested on charges of raping a 15-year-old tribal girl on March 11, police said on Wednesday.A search is on for another accused who is absconding, Deputy Superintendent of Police Manguru (Sub-Division) R Saibaba said.Fourteen persons in the age group of 20-25 had allegedly raped the girl in a forest area near Pandurangapuram village in Bhadradri-Kothagudem district of the state.After committing the crime, the gang dropped the girl at the house of a 45-year-old man, who also allegedly raped her in the night the same day, Deputy Superintendent of Police Manguru (Sub-Division) R Saibaba said.

Fourteen accused, including the 45-year-old man, were arrested yesterday and remanded to judicial custody, the DSP told PTI.The girl had gone to a shop when five of the accused, who are known to her, pulled her into an autorickshaw and took her to the forest where they allegedly raped her.The five later telephoned their nine friends who reached the spot on their motorcycles and also raped her, the DSP said.Subsequently the 45-year-old man, reportedly known to the other accused, also raped her, he said based on a complaint lodged by the victim's mother.The girl managed to escape and took a bus and reached her brother's house in neighbouring Jayashankar Bhupalpally district.She later narrated the incident to her parents.

After the parents raised the issue in their village, some villagers and parents of some of the accused tried to hush up the matter, the senior police official said.They reportedly offered to pay Rs 5 lakh to the girl's mother, who refused the amount and approached the police, he said.The accused have booked under various sections of the IPC and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act besides the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.