Hyderabad Woman accuses Telangana MLC's son of rape

A 24-year-old woman has filed a case with the Pet Basheerabad police in Hyderabad alleging that she was sexually exploited by her friend, along with two others. While the Hyderabad police confirmed the complaint and that the accused were from ‘influential’ families, media reports suggest that one of them could be the son of an MLC. The incident, she alleged, took place on Saturday night, when she went to her friend Preetham Reddy's house at Palm Meadows in Pet Basheerabad. According to The New Indian Express, soon after she reached Preetham’s house, he sexually assaulted her and later called his friends, Aarav Reddy and Snehith Reddy, who is the son of TRS MLC Bhupathi Reddy to join him. “The victim met Preetham one-and-a-half month ago at a party where they exchanged numbers, later they started talking to each other. Soon they both started liking each other and Preetham promised to marry her. On Saturday night, he called her home and raped her, and also called two of his friends to sexually assault the victim,” police inspector V Ranga Reddy told TNM. All the three accused are reported to be from influential families.  Following the complaint, police has registered a case of rape, attempt to rape and cheating on the accused. “Preetham has been taken into custody, while other two are still absconding,” added the inspector. Last year it was reported that while overall crime against woman has reportedly come down by 12% in the city, the city however witnessed a rise of nearly 30% of rape cases. According to The Hindu, in 2016, 161 rape cases were registered, out of which in 81 cases the crime was committed in love affairs and marriages.