Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Police has filed a case against BJP MLA M. Raghunandan Rao for sharing the photographs and video of Jubilee Hills gang-rape.
A case under Section 228 A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been filed against Rao at Abids Police Station on a complaint by a lawyer.
A police officer said the case was registered late Monday night and further action will be taken after seeking legal opinion.
Under Section 228 A of IPC, whoever prints or publishes the name or any matter which may make known the identity of any victim of sexual assault shall be punished with imprisonment up to two years.
The case was registered three days after the BJP MLA from Dubbak released the stills and video allegedly showing an MLA's son in intimate act with the victim of gang-rape in a car.
The MLA's action had come under flak. However, he denied that he revealed the name or identity of the victim. He said he wanted to make public the evidence about the alleged involvement of a MIM MLA's son in the incident.
The BJP leader said since police were derailing the investigation by giving a clean chit to the MLA's son, he released the video clip. He had told reporters on Monday that he was ready to face the case.
Rao, who is also a lawyer, claimed that he would submit to court all the evidence he has at an appropriate time.
The video clip went viral on social media after it was released by Raghunandan Rao at a news conference.
Police on Monday also booked a couple of YouTubers for allegedly uploading the video.
The 17-year-old girl was allegedly gangraped by five persons in a car on May 28 after promising to drop her home from a pub, where she attended a party.
Police have already arrested four accused, including three juveniles in the sensational case while the fifth accused is still absconding. The arrested juveniles include the son of a leader of ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS).
On Saturday, while addressing a press conference, Rao showed reporters a purported video of an MLA son’s involvement in the case of a minor’s gangrape in Hyderabad’s upscale Jubilee Hills.
“There is a sexual assault against the girl in the video which was presented for 10 seconds. There were four people in the red-coloured Mercedes but none of them was shown as accused by the police,” Rao later said in an interview with NDTV.
“Sexual assault can be seen in the video clearly. I have not shown the face of the girl or exposed her identity, taking all the precautions of the POCSO Act. The faces of the accused individuals, however, can be seen. Whether they are minor or not, let the court or police decide that. I have put forth the evidence before the police and the public. Now the police should determine if there was involvement of the MLA’s son,” Rao added.
Four of the attackers are in police custody - an accused named Sadauddin Mallik and three minors. The police have sought 10-day custody of the four. A fifth accused, Omair Khan, is on the run.
Of the three juveniles, one is the son of a leader of the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) who is the chairman of a government-run minority institution, the second is the son of another TRS leader, and the third is the son of a corporator from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC).
(with inputs from IANS)
