Two jailed for 20 years for techie's rape in Hyderabad

A fast-track court on Hyderabad on Wednesday sentenced two youths to 20 years in prison for the gang rape of a 22-year-old woman techie.

In the first judgment in Andhra Pradesh under the Nirbhaya Act, the fast-track court at the Ranga Reddy district court complex here also imposed a fine of Rs.1,000 each on the accused.

A lawyer told reporters that the court held V Sathish (30) and N Venkateswarlu (28) guilty of wrongful confinement, kidnapping and gang rape, under various sections of the Indian Penal Code.

The woman software engineer, an employee of an IT company at Hitec City in Bangalore, was kidnapped and raped by the two car drivers Oct 18 last year.

The woman, named as 'Abhaya' by police, was waiting for an autorickshaw after shopping at a mall in Hitec City when Sathish, driver of a car belonging to a businessman, offered to drop her at her hostel.

His friend Venkateswarlu, a cab driver, was also seated in the car and was posing as a passenger.

The accused diverted the car, took the woman to Kolluru in Medak district on the outskirts of the city and raped her. They later left the woman at her hostel.

Police had taken the help of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to crack the case.

The charge sheet was filed in January in a fast-track court set up for speedy trial. The prosecution produced scientific evidence and 21 witnesses in the court.