Hyderabad: The son of an All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) MLA has been detained by police for his involvement in the Hyderabad gang rape case He is a minor.
Out of the six accused identified in the rape case, all six have been taken into custody, including an 18-year-old Saduddin Malik, who was arrested on Friday.
The case had turned sensational over the past week, because of the involvement of members of politically influential families.
The first five have been accused under sections of gang rape, abduction, and voluntarily causing hurt as also sections of the POCSO Act, meaning they could get the death penalty, 20 years in jail, or a lifetime in jail.
The sixth has been accused of outraging the modesty of a woman, voluntarily causing hurt, and also sexual assault.
"We have booked them under the stringent sections, so they get the maximum punishment for this heinous crime," said Hyderabad police commissioner CV Anand.
Last week, BJP MLA Raghunandan Rao released a video clip and photographs of the teen and her assailants, alleging the presence of the MLA's son in a car with her. The police, he alleged, were engaged in a cover-up.
Initially, the police maintained that the legislator's son was not involved in the gang rape as he had left the group at a local pastry shop.
"He had traveled a short distance in the Innova and then returned as he got a phone call, so it was five people who committed the rape," the commissioner said, admitting that they had come to know of his involvement in the initial sexual assault on the girl only after the video and photos released by the BJP leader.
The victim had come to the club in the afternoon at around 1 pm. "The harassment of the girl began around 3 pm inside the pub itself. Subsequently, they trapped her outside the pub at around 5:40 pm after her friend left," Mr. Anand said.
One of the boys had offered her a ride and the "girl was trapped by the CCLs (children in conflict with the law)," Mr. Anand said. The attack took place in the posh Jubilee Hills area of Hyderabad.
Security footage that went viral showed the girl standing outside the pub with the suspected attackers. The MLA's son, who was also seen in the video, may face a jail term of up to five years.