Young woman trafficked to Hyd, locked up and repeatedly raped; 3 held, key accused absconding | Hyderabad News

Hyderabad: Hyderabad: An 18-year-old Rohingya refugee woman, allegedly trafficked from Bangladesh to Hyderabad, was confined to a rented house for five months and repeatedly raped by four men, including a man who allegedly married her without disclosing that he was already married.The case came to light only after the landlord broke open the house and found the woman alone inside. He was angry with the prime accused for failing to pay the pending rent.Based on the survivor’s complaint, Kanchanbagh police registered a case on Monday and arrested three of the accused on Tuesday. The main accused remains absconding. The four have been booked under Sections 64(2)(m) (rape), 127(4) (wrongful confinement) and 351 (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.According to police, the 30-year-old prime accused, himself a Rohingya refugee living in a camp in Hyderabad, allegedly brought the woman illegally from Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh to Hyderabad in May. After arriving in the city, he allegedly married her and confined her to a rented house within the limits of Kanchanbagh police station.“He was already married but lied to her about his marital status. After coming to Hyderabad, he married the young woman and confined her,” said Kanchanbagh inspector J Balaraju.Police alleged that the accused repeatedly sexually assaulted her and allowed three friends, all Rohingya refugees, to rape her multiple times over the five-month period.The abuse remained hidden until Oct 23, when the landlord visited the house to collect the pending rent. After finding the door locked from outside and receiving no response, he broke open the lock around 10 pm and found the woman alone inside.Suspecting something was amiss, the landlord helped her contact relatives living in a refugee camp in the city. “After hearing what she had gone through, the relatives brought her to the police on Monday,” said Rajendranagar DCP, S Srinivas.Police recorded the survivor’s statement at the Bharosa Centre with the assistance of translators and later sent her for a medical examination.The main accused, who works in a hotel and has been living in the refugee camp in the city for more than two years, remains on the run. A special police team has been formed to trace and arrest him.