The NTR district police in Andhra Pradesh have arrested three men who allegedly raped a woman on the premises of the Vijayawada Government General Hospital on Tuesday, 19 April.
The woman, who is said to have intellectual disabilities, went missing on Tuesday. She later told the police that she was taken to the hospital by an acquaintance named Srikanth on the pretext of a job offer.
On reaching the hospital, he allegedly raped her after promising to marry her and then abandoned her at the hospital, where two of his friends allegedly raped her the next day.
According to Vijayawada Commissioner of Police Kanthi Rana Tata, on Wednesday afternoon, the woman’s mother filed a complaint with the Nunna police station that her daughter was missing. Police then interrogated Srikanth, who was a suspect.
Srikanth initially told the police that the woman went to visit him on Tuesday night, but claimed that he sent her away in an auto as it was night-time.
However, after the woman was found, on subsequent interrogation, she informed the police that Srikanth had not indeed sent her away in an auto, but took her to the Government General Hospital with the promise of a job offer. At the hospital, he told her that he would marry her and allegedly raped her.
The next morning, she told the police that he left her at the hospital. As she was walking around the hospital premises alone, Srikanth’s friend Babu Rao, who does pest control work at the hospital, and his friend Pawan Kalyan, told her that they were Srikanth’s friends. Promising to help her marry Srikanth, they also allegedly raped her.
Missing Case Changed to Rape Case
Based on the woman’s complaint, the missing case was changed to a rape case and was handed over to Disha ACP (Assistant Commissioner of Police) VV Naidu.
The woman was sent for a medical check-up and for gathering evidence. The three men, 26-year-old Srikanth, 23-year-old Babu Rao and 23-year-old Pawan Kalyan, all residents of Vijayawada, have been arrested.
State Health Minister Vidadala Rajani has directed the Director of Medical Education (DME) to conduct a department-wise full-scale investigation. The accused were identified as workers from a private fogging or pest control agency, and the health department has issued orders to remove them from duty immediately. Both the security agency and fogging agency at the Vijayawada GGH have been issued termination notices.
Meanwhile, the state government has announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the family of the survivor. On Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s orders, a circle inspector and a sub-inspector were suspended for negligence in performing their duties.
(Published in an arrangement with The News Minute.)
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