India

Hyderabad Landlord Finds Rohingya Woman Held in Rape and Confinement After Unpaid Rent

By TNN

An 18‑year‑old Rohingya refugee woman, allegedly trafficked from Bangladesh to Hyderabad, was kept in a rented house for five months and repeatedly raped by four men, including a man who claimed to have married her while already being married. The case was uncovered when the landlord broke the lock to collect unpaid rent and found the woman alone inside. He was angry that the prime accused had not paid the rent. Following 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 men have been booked under Sections 64(2)(m) (rape), 127(4) (wrongful confinement) and 351 (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Police say the 30‑year‑old prime accused, a Rohingya refugee living in a Hyderabad camp, allegedly brought the woman illegally from Cox’s Bazar in May, married her after lying about his marital status, and confined her to the rented house within the Kanchanbagh police station limits. He allegedly allowed three friends, all Rohingya refugees, to rape her repeatedly over the five‑month period. The abuse was hidden until Oct. 23 when the landlord visited to collect rent. Finding the door locked and receiving no response, he broke the lock around 10 p.m. and discovered the woman alone. Suspecting something was wrong, the landlord helped her contact relatives in a refugee camp. The relatives brought her to the police on Monday. Police officials recorded her statement at the Bharosa Centre with translators and later sent her for a medical examination. The main accused, who works in a hotel and has lived in the refugee camp for more than two years, is on the run, and a special police team has been formed to trace and arrest him.