Puttaparthi: Six people have been arrested in connection with the gang rape of a minor girl in Edgurallapalli village under Ramagiri mandal in the district.

District SP V Ratna disclosed the details during a press meet held at the Police Conference Hall on Monday, alongside Dharmavaram DSP B Hemanth Kumar.

According to the SP, six accused individuals have been taken into custody and remanded for allegedly sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl at different times. DSP Hemanth Kumar, who is overseeing the Dharmavaram Sub-Division, led the arrest operation and confirmed the apprehension of the suspects.

Achampalli Vardhan (21), Talari Murali (25), Badagorla Nandavardhan Raj @ Nanda (23), Arencheru Nagaraju @ Haryana Cheruvu Nagaraju (51), Boya Sanjeev (40), Budida Rajanna (49), All six were arrested on June 9 and sent to judicial remand. Based on the complaint filed by the victim, the six accused allegedly took turns at different times to sexually assault her.

Police acted swiftly and booked the individuals under various stringent legal provisions.

Some of the other names mentioned in the complaint include Vardhan, Giri, Rajesh, Anji, Murali, Hemanth, and Karthik. The investigation is ongoing to apprehend any other persons involved.

It has also come to light that some of the accused were previously involved in incidents that led to pregnancies among minor girls.

The case is registered under the following sections: Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS): Sections 115(2), 351(2), 96, 87, 77, 238, 308(5), 65 r/w 3(5), POCSO Act, 2012: Sections 5, 5(j)(ii), 5(l) r/w 6, SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 2015: Sections 3(1)(w)(ii), 3(2)(v), Information Technology Act, 2000: Sections 66E, 67, 67A.

Police are actively searching for other absconding suspects, and their arrests are expected soon.