Visakhapatnam: Two tribal girls were gang-raped by eight youths in the tribal agency area of the district, police said here today. According to district rural police, the incident took place two days before and the village elders tried to hush up the crime by directing the culprits to pay Rs 50000 as compensation to the victims. The accused, that included a son of block elected representative and a State Police head constable and their six friends, are absconding, police said.
The incident occurred on Saturday evening in Tajangi village when the girls had gone for ‘jatra’, a local festival along with their two male friends. As it was raining heavily, the girls along with the two youth had taken shelter in front of a closed shop. The accused reached there, chased away the male friends and raped the girls one after another. The victims reached the village and informed their parents.
Instead of lodging a complaint with police, their families approached the village elders in accordance with the traditions of the tribal community. The village elders summoned the youth on Sunday and directed them to pay Rs 50,000 compensation to the two victims. The girls refused to accept the same and compelled their parents to lodge a complaint with police. As per their complaint, Chintapalli Mandal Police registered cases against the accused for rape and for committing atrocities on tribals. Police sent the girls for medical examination and formed special teams to nab the accused. (UNI)