Hyderabad: A 25-year-old German tourist was raped by a youth inside a car at Mamidipally on the outskirts of Hyderabad on Monday night. The accused offered the woman and her male friend from Germany a ride to explore the city, took them to an isolated spot and sexually assaulted her after dropping her friend at some distance.
The accused was arrested near his Yakutpura residence within 12 hours of the crime, and remanded in judicial custody on Tuesday.
According to police, the two German nationals came to Hyderabad on an invitation from an Indian friend in the first week of March and were staying at his Meerpet residence. They also visited other Indian cities and were scheduled to fly back to Germany on April 3.
Around 7 pm on Monday, the survivor and her German friend were visiting a local vegetable market, where the 25-year-old accused and five minor boys from his neighbourhood, travelling in a Swift Dzire car, approached them and started a conversation. The accused offered to take the foreigners around the city. He had hired the car from a self-drive agency for a spin around the city with his friends, a police officer said.
The woman and her friend accepted the offer. The Yakutpura youth drove the duo and five minors around the Old City, showing them historical places. “During the drive, they even had food, beverages and paan, and clicked pictures and selfies at various spots,” the officer said.
After about two hours, the accused drove towards Mamidipally and stopped the vehicle at an isolated location on the main road, where he asked the German man and the minors accompanying him to disembark and click selfies. He proposed to take the survivor to a location about 100 metres away on the pretext of clicking better photographs.
“After reaching the spot, the woman clicked some pictures of the surroundings and selfies with the accused. While she was getting back into the rear seat, the man forced himself on her, raped her and threatened her with dire consequences,” the officer further said.
He later drove her back to the place where he had dropped the others. As soon as she jumped out of the car, the accused sped away, leaving the survivor and her friend stranded on the road. The minors had already fled earlier, leaving the survivor’s friend waiting alone.
Later, the two German nationals informed their Hyderabad friend. Together, they approached Pahadi Shareef police station and lodged a complaint.
“Based on the pictures of the accused in the survivor’s mobile phone and other leads, the accused was identified and arrested near his house,” an investigating officer said. The survivor’s statement was recorded and she was sent for medical examination and counselling.
The accused worked as driver in Dubai for a couple of years before returning to Hyderabad.