The police are also investigating how the club gave access to minors and whether they had alcohol.
Hyderabad:
Hours before a 17-year-old girl was gang-raped by a group of schoolboys in a Mercedes car parked in one of the most upscale parts of Hyderabad, she was seen on security footage standing outside a pub with the suspects. She had just left the pub with one of the boys, who had offered to drop her home.
Security footage shows the girl leaving with the boys between 5 pm and 6 pm in the evening. They are seen standing and talking outside the pub in daylight.
The girl hugs a friend, says goodbye and gets in a red Mercedes with the boys.
Moments later, the boys allegedly parked the Mercedes at Jubilee Hills and took turns to rape her while the others stood guard outside the car.
The accused are Class 11 and 12 students and belong to “politically influential” families, say the police. An MLA’s son is believed to be part of the group, but the police say he may not have been involved in the gang-rape.
On Saturday evening, the girl had gone to the pub with a friend, who left early. The teen reportedly befriended a boy and left the club with him and his friends.
The group even went to a pastry shop before the assault, according to the police.
The MLA’s son reportedly got off the car before the assault and ran away.
When the girl’s father noticed injuries to her neck and asked her about them, she told him some boys had attacked her after a party at the pub.
The police initially registered a case of “outraging modesty” based on the girl’s father’s complaint. Later, when she gave a detailed statement, a rape case was filed.
“Her father approached us. According to whatever he told us we filed a case of outraging modesty and under POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences). He was not sure what happened, the girl was not in a position to reveal anything,” police officer Joel Davis told NDTV.
When the girl was sent to women officers, she revealed the true extent of what had happened.
“She could not reveal identity of the accused. She only had one name. Based on footage and technical evidence, we are looking for the suspects,” Mr Davis said.
The girl’s father said in his complaint: “At about 5.30 pm, she was taken out of the pub by a few guys in a car. Later, they misbehaved with my daughter and assaulted her, she has minor injuries on her neck. Since then, my daughter has been in deep shock and has been unable to disclose what happened exactly,” read the complaint.
The police are also investigating how the club gave access to minors and whether they had alcohol.
The manager of the pub said no one was allowed to drink or smoke in the party.
“The place was booked for a party by a person called Ishan for 150 people. But 30 more were added. We are hearing they all left together in the car and as per the police we know they had alcohol outside,” the manager said.