HANAMKONDA: In yet another horrifying incident, Hanamkonda police on Thursday arrested Vemula Shiva Kumar, the personal assistant of Warangal East MLA Narendar Nannapuneni, and two others on charges of raping and criminally intimidating a woman who was staying in a private hostel. The accused were also booked under relevant sections of the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Police identified the other two accused as hostel owner Vemula Shoba and her relative Vemula Vijay Kumar, who runs a medical shop in the city.
‘Accused threatened to make visuals public’
Hanamkonda ACP V Kiran Kumar told TNIE: “The girl is pursuing her Masters and is staying in a private hostel in Hanamkonda. As per her complaint, she was habituated to using her mobile phone in the hostel. Noticing this, hostel owner Vemula Shoba started blackmailing her to have physical relations with Vijay Kumar.”
The ACP said that in her complaint, the girl said that she succumbed to pressure from Shoba and went to Vijay Kumar. The complaint said that Vijay Kumar sexually exploited her for over a month, and then threatened that he would post her photos and videos on social media platforms if she did not have physical relations with Shiva Kumar.
“Unable to face the pressure, she went to Shiva Kumar’s residence and had sex with him. Taking advantage of the girl’s fear, Shiva Kumar threatened her to go to his friend living in Hyderabad,” the ACP said. The girl at last gathered courage and approached Hanamkonda police. Based on her complaint, Hanamkonda police booked Shoba, Vijay Kumar and Shiva Kumar under relevant Sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and SC/ST Amendment Act-2015.