4 detained in alleged gang rape at Hyderabad's Gandhi Hospital

Hyderabad police on Tuesday detained four persons in connection with the alleged gang rape of two women at government-run Gandhi Hospital.

Police were questioning the lab technician who allegedly raped wife and sister-in-law of a patient. A security guard and two others were also being questioned.

A police team visited the hospital to gather the clues as part of the investigations into the sensational case.

Two sisters, aged 38 and 40, told police that the accused confined one of them in a room for four days. The technician's friend also allegedly raped one of the victims.

One of the women from Mahabubnagar district lodged a complaint with Chilkalguda police station. She alleged that a lab technician confined her in a dark room, drugged her and raped her for four days. She told police that accused Uma Maheswar's friend also raped her in the room.

The victim alleged that the lab technician also raped her elder sister, whose whereabouts are not known. Police sent her for medical examination.

Police inspector G. Naresh said they registered a case against Uma Maheswar and his friend based on the woman's complaint and took up investigations.

"We are probing the case from all angles. We are scanning the footage from CCTV cameras at the hospital for further clues," he said.

The victim told police that she had come to the hospital along with her elder sister and brother-in-law. The 45-year-old man was admitted to the hospital with liver and kidney related complications on August 5. According to the complainant, he was discharged on August 13.

The patient returned home with his son, but his wife and sister-in-law were found missing. The patient's son returned to the hospital in search of his mother and aunt. He found his aunt, who narrated to him how Uma Maheswar sexually assaulted her. She later approached the police.

Meanwhile, Telangana State Women Commission chairperson Sunitha Laxma Reddy visited the hospital on Tuesday and spoke to Superintendent Dr Raja Rao.

She later told reporters that the police were conducting the inquiry by constituting two teams. While one team was trying to trace the missing woman, the other was scanning CCTV footage.

"The case is being probed from all angles. Whoever found guilty will be severely punished," she said.

The superintendent said the hospital formed a committee to probe the incident. He said nobody brought the incident to the knowledge of hospital authorities.

Raja Rao said out of 219 CCTV cameras at the hospital, all except 25 were functioning. Stating that the hospital has adequate security and police presence, the superintendent said there were no chances of such a crime being committed in the hospital premises.

He said the patient, an alcoholic, was admitted to hospital with liver and kidney related complications. The patient was advised dialysis, but he left the hospital without informing anybody.

Gandhi Hospital is the biggest government-run healthcare facility in Telangana and is the state nodal centre for Covid-19 cases. It was recently reopened for treatment of non-Covid cases.