Ayanavaram rape case: HC rejects plea by 14 accused for CBI probe

Justice A D Jagadish Chandira who heard the plea in-camera dismissed the plea after holding that the petitioners have not made out any extraordinary or special grounds for transfer of investigation or for further investigation.

The case pertains to the alleged rape of a minor girl by a group of 17 people working as plumbers,

housekeepers, security guards and lift operators at an apartment complex in Ayanavaram. The incident had come to light after the victim narrated her ordeal to her elder sister, who then informed their parents. This led to a police complaint being lodged on July 15 and the subsequent arrest of the accused on July 17.

Of the 17 accused, 14 of them had moved the plea seeking CBI probe claiming that the allegations against them were false. “It was very strange that the minor girl was still alive despite the claim of her having been gangraped on multiple occasions,” they alleged.

Also, noting that none of them had bad antecedents, they submitted that adverse media reports had prejudiced the mind of the police and others resulting in them being beaten up by certain advocates and unknown people in the court when they were produced for remand. They also submitted that besides them losing jobs, their families were forced to vacate from the houses by the landlords.

According to the police, the girl was sedated with injections, drug-laced soft drinks and made to sniff a powder by the accused before sexually assaulting her repeatedly for over seven months. All the accused persons were detained under Goondas Act and the Goondas Advisory Board had recently confirmed their detention.