A 16-year-old girl from Odisha, employed as a domestic help in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, reportedly endured a harrowing incident of gang rape allegedly perpetrated by 12 individuals, with 11 of them having been apprehended, as revealed by the police on Tuesday.
The arrested suspects have been remanded in judicial custody until January 12, while efforts are underway to locate the remaining two individuals involved.
According to the Andhra Pradesh Police, the horrifying ordeal began when the minor girl was allegedly gang-raped by her boyfriend and his friend. Subsequently, when she attempted to end her life at RK Beach, she was encountered by photographers who purportedly subjected her to further days of sexual assault before eventually abandoning her in Odisha. Upon learning of the incident, law enforcement promptly arrested all the accused, except for two individuals who are still at large, as per the police statement.
The victim, who had migrated from Odisha to Visakhapatnam nine months ago, went missing on December 17, prompting her father to file a missing person's complaint in Visakhapatnam a day later. On December 23, the Odisha Police informed the girl's father about her whereabouts, leading to a joint effort by the police team and her father to bring her back to Visakhapatnam on December 25.
However, it was only on December 31 that the traumatized girl confided in her parents about the horrifying incidents she endured. The police recorded her statement, revealing that 12 individuals had allegedly assaulted her on different occasions at various lodges.
The Andhra Pradesh Police report detailed that the victim had gone with her friend Imran and his friend Shoaib on her birthday, where she was allegedly forced to engage in intercourse with them in a lodge near RK Beach. Later, the duo dropped her at her workplace in the morning.
Subsequently, the girl went to the beach, where she encountered photographers, identified as Raju, Harish, Nagendra, and Gopi, who purportedly deceived her under the guise of offering "moral strength." They allegedly took her to a lodge and subjected her to gang rape.
The police further stated that six additional individuals—Srinu, Ashok, Naresh, Thambe, Eswar, and Praveen—joined in assaulting the girl until December 22. On December 23, one of the accused dropped her near a police station in Odisha with Rs 200 in hand. She was eventually provided shelter by police personnel who alerted her parents.
A case has been registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and other relevant sections. An operation was launched, leading to the arrest of 11 individuals, with efforts ongoing to locate the remaining two. In response to the incident, opposition parties, including Congress and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), criticized the Andhra Pradesh government for its perceived failure to protect women in the state.
