The Warangal police on January 5 picked up two brothers Abu Ali (27) and Azmad Ali (22) from Warangal city on the charges of raping a 15-year-old girl living in their neighbourhood over the last 6 months. The duo has been booked for rape and under sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act
As per a Times of India report, the crime has caused communal tensions as the victim belongs to a Hindu OBC community while the accused are Muslims. According to police, Abu Ali works in a second-hand furniture store and lured the victim girl to his house, and started raping her continuously. He continued to exploit the minor girl repeatedly on various occasions. When his 22-year-old brother Azmad Ali found out about the rape, he too started raping her.
According to the report published by Velugu Daily, this gruesome incident came to light when the girl told her family about the sexual assault after which they complained to the Mills Colony area police station. The victim’s angered family members attacked the houses and vehicles of the accused, citing no police action against them. As this news came into limelight, about 50 BJP activists stormed into the house of the accused and damaged the property. A local BJP activist, Kusuma Satish, claimed that the accused threatened to circulate the girl’s photos on social media and even kill her father if she told anybody about the assault.
Warangal ACP K Giri Kumar said that police had identified the accused men, and they were picked up for investigation. The minor girl was sent for a medical examination.
Local BJP leaders accused the police of not acting immediately, but Warangal commissioner AV Ranganath denied the claim. “We received a complaint on Wednesday night, and a case was registered during the early hours of Thursday. There was no delay,” he said.
(This article first appeared on nijamtoday.com on January 6, 2022 and is being republished with edits as part of a content-sharing agreement via smart4bharat.com)
