HYDERABAD: Hayathnagar police on Tuesday arrested five minor boys for their alleged involvement in the gangrape of a 17-year-old female classmate. The accused also recorded the sexual assault and circulated it on social media, police said.
According to the police, the five accused, who are students of Classes 9 and 10, and the victim, who is in Class 10, knew each other well. It is reported that all the accused would roam around the school area after classes and watch pornographic videos on their mobile phones together.
Since they were close, the boys thought they could lure the 17-year-old into having intercourse with them. In August, the boys sexually assaulted her at her residence while her family members were away, police said, adding that the boys recorded the act on their mobile phones.
Threatened, she stayed silent. Ten days later, one of the accused sexually assaulted her again and recorded it on his phone. When he shared it with his classmates and the other accused via Whatsapp, the victim narrated the entire ordeal to her parents, who lodged a police complaint.
A probe was launched and police registered a case against the five Children in Conflict with Law (CCL) within 24 hours under Sections 449 (house trespass) and 376 DA (gangrape) r/w 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 5 R/w 6, 9(g), 10 r/w 11, (v) (vi), 14 and 15 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, and Section 67A and 67B of Information Technology Act, 2000.
Cops also seized three mobile phones from the accused that were allegedly used in recording the video of the crime and sharing it with others. After the victim’s medical examination and other procedures, the CCLs were produced before the Juvenile Justice Board for further action.
Meanwhile, police have issued a general warning against sharing the visuals of the sexual assault pertaining to the case.“Whoever circulates them, either intentionally or unintentionally, will be prosecuted under the POCSO Act, Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, and IT Act,” the police said.