Andhra Pradesh police failed to make any breakthrough in the investigation into the gang-rape of two minor girls allegedly by eight people near Visakhapatnam on May 20.
"The accused is identified, but he is absconding from the village," said Visakhapatnam superintendent of police Rahul Dev Sharma. "In fact, a case has been registered under the POSCO Act and the ST Act and an FIR has also been registered," he added.
Though the incident happened on May 20, it came to light only on May 22 as the victims' family opted to discuss the issue with village elders. Later, the victims approached the police and lodged a complaint against the accused.
It is alleged that there were also attempts to hush up the matter by giving a compensation of Rs 25,000 to each of the two minor girls from the Primitive Tribal Group (PTG). The girls were allegedly gang-raped by a group of eight people near Tajangi area under Chintapalle police station limits in the Visakhapatnam Agency.
"We have sent special teams to find the absconding person. Once caught, he can name the others," said the SP, adding that "Our teams have gone into the agency area though it is risky right now, since the outlawed naxalites take shelter there."
The rape incident took place at the Tajangi village where the two girls along with two male friends had gone to attend a Pothuraju-babula (who is the local deity) 'jatra' (local fair). A sudden thunder shower made the four take shelter in a school building. The accused K. Varun, son of local MPTC K. Angadha Rao, saw the girls and boys going to the school building and he called his seven friends, including L. Nagendra, son of head constable L. Ganesh. The eight youngsters then allegedly thrashed the two male friends of the girls and some of them raped the girls.
After the girls raised an alarm, people from nearby areas reached the spot but by then the perpetrators had managed to escape.
