(Trigger Warning: Mentions of rape, sexual assault)
Hours after the Hyderabad police booked BJP MLA Raghunandan Rao for releasing photographs and videos of the 17-year-old Jubilee Hills gang rape survivor at a press conference, he said that he had his party's support and would face the case legally.
He had reportedly released the videos as 'evidence' of the involvement of a public figure's son in the case.
"I'm a law abiding citizen. I'll face this case legally. The case registered against me was filed by the Congress. The party stands with me," ANI reported him saying.
A case was registered at the Abids police station under Section 228A (disclosure of identity of the victim of certain offences) of the IPC (Indian Penal Code), and an investigation is underway, said Abids Road SHO B Prasada Rao.
The Controversy Around the Video
Not only did the video go viral on social media but was also broadcast on television news channels.
While it wasn't clear if the act in the video was consensual or not, after the video was released, questions were raised against the survivor's version of events.
TRS social media convenor Krishank Manne, among several others, had condemned Raghunandan Rao for releasing the video and held him responsible for starting a social media trial of the girl and her family.
Arrests Made So Far
The fourth accused in the Hyderabad gang rape case, who is a teenager, was taken into custody, on Sunday, 5 June.
Earlier on Saturday, 4 June, the police made two arrests in the case. Both the arrested are minors, and one is the son of an influential public figure.
They had arrested one person in the case, identified as Saduddin Malik, on Friday evening.
The fifth accused, identified as Umair Khan, is still absconding.
The Incident
Though the girl had initially not reported the incident to her family, because she had visible injuries on her neck from the assault, her father lodged a complaint at the Jubilee Hills police station.
As per the complaint, the minor had gone to the party on the afternoon of 28 May. At around 5:30 pm, a few men escorted her out of there and asked her to sit inside a red Mercedes, The News Minute reported.
The police are also probing CCTV footage in connection with the incident, which apparently shows the girl leaving with a group of boys between 5 pm and 6 pm.
The police also said that the group went to a pastry shop after leaving the pub, as per NDTV.
(With inputs from, ANI, The Newsminute and NDTV)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)