HYDERABAD: Hyderabad city police registered a case against BJP MLA M Raghunandan Rao in connection with the alleged gang-rape of a 17-year-old in Jubilee Hills.
The case was registered against Raghunandan Rao on charges of releasing videos related to the incident at Jubilee hills at Abids police station, based on a complaint from a city-based advocate Komireddy.
BJP MLA M Raghunandan Rao has asserted that he has done nothing to reveal the identity of the Jubilee Hills minor gang-rape victim in the photos and video clip that he has presented to the media last week. He came to the BJP party office at Nampally on Tuesday morning and said that he would be available at the party office till 5 pm, for the police to either serve notice to him or arrest him.
Responding to the reports about a case filed against him and his party MLA T Raja Singh as per IPC Section 228 (A), he said that it was filed by the Congress party, which meant there was a clear nexus between the Congress and the MIM, to mislead the case and save the accused.
"I came to know that even the Congress leaders' family members are involved in this case. They may be worried that their family members could be implicated in the case, the reason why they are trying to shift the attention towards me," he said.
About the need for releasing the video and the photos, he said that he has done so, only after the police had given clean-chit to MIM MLA's son in connection with the case.
"Though the crime was perpetrated on May 28, it was only after the protests of BJP on June 3 that the police hurriedly held a press meet and gave clean-chit to the MLA's son. As a citizen, it was my duty to bring out the facts and prove their claim wrong," he said.
He also pointed out how politicians and police officers had revealed the identity of Disha, who was gang-raped and murdered in Shadnagar, right after the crime, and even the pictures of the accused, who were minors, were published in the newspapers at the time.
"Even the then TPCC president and higher-ups in the police department had revealed the identities of the victim and the accused minors then. When Section 228 (A) was not used to frame charges against people who revealed their identities then, why is it that it has become so necessary now," he questioned.
Maintaining that he has neither revealed the name of the victim nor has he shown her face in the photos or the video, he has dared those who are reportedly trying to falsely implicate him, to instead demand justice for the victim and the arrest of the MIM MLA's son.
It is known that cases were filed against BJP MLAs Raghunandan Rao and T Raja Singh at Abids police station as per IPC Section 228 (A), for revealing the identity of the victim.
Meanwhile, a case was registered against MLA Raja Singh at Kanchanbagh police station, on charges of making derogatory comments against a religious place belonging to a particular community during a meeting in the past. Ali, a resident of Kanchanbagh lodged a complaint after coming across the videos recently.
BJP is planning protests across the city on Wednesday, against the illegal cases filed against the party's MLAs.