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5 minors get bail in Hyd rape case
While the juvenile justice board in the Nampally criminal court complex granted bail to four minor accused on Tuesday evening, the Telangana high court granted bail to the fifth one, the son of a lawmaker, on Wednesday, after hearing a bail petition his lawyer had moved.
Hyderabad: All the five minors who were detained for allegedly abducting and gang raping a 16-year-old girl on May 28 have been released on bail — four of them on Tuesday and the fifth one on Wednesday.
In all, six people were arrested in the case, with the main accused Saduddin Malik (18) still in prison.
While the juvenile justice board in the Nampally criminal court complex granted bail to four minor accused on Tuesday evening, the Telangana high court granted bail to the fifth one, the son of a lawmaker, on Wednesday, after hearing a bail petition his lawyer had moved.
However, the Nampally metropolitan magistrate court rejected Malik’s petition on Wednesday.
The five minors had moved separate bail petitions before the juvenile court twice in June, but they were rejected. On Tuesday, the court granted bail to four of them on production of surety for ₹5,000 each. The court directed them to cooperate with the investigating officers and appear before the authorities whenever they are called.
The lawyers, who argued on behalf of the minors, contended that the accused were entitled to bail as the police had completed the investigation into the case in all angles and was about to file the charge sheet shortly.
The police had argued against the bail petitions saying the accused could not be released on bail as they might influence the witnesses. The court however, ordered their release.
While Malik, who was arrested by the Hyderabad police on June 3 was lodged in Chanchalguda jail, the five minors, arrested between June 4 and 7, were lodged at a juvenile home in Saidabad.
A senior police official investigating the case said a 400-page charge sheet was being readied to be produced before the court shortly. Around 24 persons are stated to be witnesses in the case, said the official, asking not to be named.
The police’s case is that on May 28, the accused forced the survivor to get into his car at Amnesia and Insomnia Pub after a daytime party and drove it up to a pastry shop in the nearby locality, where she was shifted into a Toyota Innova in which they allegedly raped her.
The police booked cases against the accused under Sections 376-D (gang rape), 323 (causing injuries) and 376 (kidnapping) of the Indian Penal Code, besides under the POCSO Act.
Another case was also booked under the Information Technology Act for circulating pictures and videos of the survivor.
