In a horrific incident, a 25-year-old pregnant woman was assaulted and raped at the Repalle railway station in Andhra Pradesh’s Bapatla district in the early hours of Sunday. Police teams formed to investigate the crime arrested three persons, including a minor, the same day. The two adult men have been identified as 20-year-old Paluboyina Vijaykrishna and 25-year-old Paluchuri Nikhil. The third accused, a minor, who has been in conflict with the law earlier as well, is an accused in previous cases of theft.
The survivor, her husband and their three kids had come to Guntur two days ago for masonry work. The survivor is four months pregnant. They had boarded a train to Tenali, from where they boarded a train to Repalle. On the night of April 30, they arrived at the Repalle railway station 20 minutes before midnight and were stuck so they decided to stay back on the platform. According to the police, three people woke them up to ask them the time, and when the survivor’s husband said they did not have a watch, they assaulted him.
Following this, the three accused are said to have taken Rs 750 which the survivor had, and when she tried to stop them, dragged her behind a nearby bush. Her husband went to the Repalle Police station with the help of locals and lodged a complaint. Police personnel searched the area and found the victim in some bushes. She reportedly told the police that the two persons sexually assaulted her. It was after this that a case was registered by the Repalle Town CI. The victim and her injured husband were shifted to a hospital.
Bapatla SP Vakul Jindal met the woman and visited the scene of the crime, after which three teams were formed to investigate. A dog squad and Clues team were used to collect evidence. Soon after, the accused were caught in Repalle Town’s Netaji Nagar by a special team led by Repalle DSP and town CI teams, and their belongings were seized.
The SP has directed officials to file a chargesheet immediately as per the Disha Act, 2019.
Prior to the accused being nabbed, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy expressed anguish over the incident. Minister for Health and Family Welfare V Rajini said the government will take all possible steps to ensure the harshest punishment for the offenders.