Pregnant woman gang-raped, spouse assaulted in railway station; 3 held

The woman was heading to Nagayalanka in Krishna district along with her husband and their three children when she was reportedly violated by the trio.
Police inspect the scene of offence at Repalle railway station, where a woman was allegedly gang-raped by two persons, on Sunday. (Photo I EPS)
Police inspect the scene of offence at Repalle railway station, where a woman was allegedly gang-raped by two persons, on Sunday. (Photo I EPS)

GUNTUR: Two persons, including a minor, allegedly gang-raped a pregnant SC after assaulting her husband and robbing him of cash at Repalle railway station early on Sunday—the second such incident on railway premises in the State in 15 days.

The woman was heading to Nagayalanka in Krishna district along with her husband and their three children when she was reportedly violated by the trio. All three were arrested by afternoon.

The family had reached Repalle around 11 pm by Guntur-Repalle local on Saturday, and decided to take shelter at the railway station for lack of transportation at that hour. Bapatla SP Vakul Jindal said the couple, both daily wagers, had gone to Guntur on work a few days ago. They hailed from Yerragondapalem in Prakasam district.

Recalling the statement of the survivor’s husband, police said he was woken up by three persons, including the minor, around 1 am. They wanted to know the time, and when the man replied that he didn’t have a watch, they manhandled and tried to strangle him. Police identified the adults as P Vijayakrishna (20) and P Nikhil (25). All three were reportedly drunk. “They took away `750 he had with him. When his wife intervened, the gang dragged her by the hair, and two of them, Vijayakrishna and the minor, raped her on platform number one of the station,” Jindal said.

The husband left his family in the station to seek help. With the help of locals, he reported the incident at Repalle police station. Police responded immediately but the alleged criminals fled on hearing the siren. The woman was shifted to a hospital for medical examinations and counselling. “Police pressed sniffer dogs into service and tracked the location where one of the accused had changed his shirt. All three were arrested by 1 pm on Sunday,” the officer said.The accused, residents of Netaji Nagar in Repalle, have been booked under IPC sections 376D (gang rape), 394 (robbery) and 307 read with 34 (attempt to murder).

A court later remanded them in judicial custody. “We are collecting technical evidence including CCTV footage and the chargesheet will be filed as soon as possible to ensure punishment to the accused,’’ Jindal added.Earlier, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy spoke to the SP and instructed the police to expedite the probe and provide all assistance to the family. AP Mahila Commission Chief Vasireddy Padma, too, expressed shock over the crime, and said the occurrence of such an incident at a railway station has to be considered seriously. She ordered a thorough investigation on the security measures being taken at the railway station and instructed the railway officials concerned to submit a report. The survivor was shifted to Ongole GGH in the evening.

One held in Gurazala gang-rape case

One man was arrested in connection with the gang rape of a 30-year-old woman at Gurazala railway station on April 16, police said on Sunday. The woman, a migrant labourer from Odisha was with her three-year-old son at Gurazala railway station halt when two men, including the arrested Sreenu (39) of Nakarikallu, raped her at an isolated place. CI Srinivas said Sreenu was arrested based on information provided by the survivor and locals. “We are yet to nab the second accused. Identifying the accused is challenging due to the lack of CCTV cameras.’’

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