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Absconding Telangana leader nabbed, held for minor’s rape
Police also arrested his car driver, Mohd Jaffar, and another woman, who allegedly assisted Khan in committing the sexual offence. All the three had been absconding since Saturday, when the girl’s parents lodged a complaint with police.
Telangana police on Wednesday arrested Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) leader and vice-chairman of Nirmal municipality Sheik Sajid Khan in connection with alleged rape of a 15-year-old girl.
Police also arrested his car driver, Mohd Jaffar, and another woman, who allegedly assisted Khan in committing the sexual offence. All the three had been absconding since Saturday, when the girl’s parents lodged a complaint with police.
“We have booked a case under Section 362 (abduction) and 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and relevant sections of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act,” Nirmal deputy superintendent of police D Upender Reddy said.
He said police records had revealed that Khan was involved in several other cases in the past. “We have opened a history sheet against him. We shall produce the arrested in the court for judicial remand later in the day,” the DSP said.
The TRS already announced on Monday that he was being expelled from the primary membership of the party for his alleged sexual assault on the girl.
The incident came to light when the parents of the girl, a Class 8 student, lodged a complaint with “childline,” an NGO working against child trafficking and child abuse, which in turn informed police on Saturday.
According to police, Khan, who noticed the girl at a function in Nirmal town a few days ago, took the help of a woman who happens to be the owner of the house where the girl’s family resides. The woman took the girl along with her to Hyderabad in a car on the pretext of attending a family function.
“Instead of taking her to the function, the woman took the girl to a hotel in the old city, where Khan raped her. Later, the girl was taken to different places in the city, where she was repeatedly assaulted sexually. Later, the house owner brought the girl back to Nirmal and warned her of dire consequences, if she complained to police,” Reddy said, quoting the girl.
On Saturday, the girl told the parents about the sexual offence against her and they immediately brought it to the notice of the NGO that in turn informed police.
