The Andhra Pradesh government on Friday suspended two police officers for dereliction of duty after a mentally-challenged woman was gangraped by three contract employees of a government hospital in Vijayawada.

The Circle Inspector and Sub-Inspector of Nunna Police Station in the city were suspended after Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy took serious note of the shocking incident and the negligence shown by the police officers.

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The chief minister also ordered the health department to take action against the officials of Government General Hospital (GGH), where the 23-year-old victim was confined to a room for 30 hours (April 19-20) and three accused sexually assaulted her.

The Chief Minister also announced Rs 10 lakh compensation for the victim. He also ordered the officials to ensure stringent action against the accused. All three accused have been dismissed from service.

The victim’s parents alleged that the lack of quick response from the police on their missing complaint led to the ghastly crime. The woman’s parents themselves went to the hospital on the night of April 20 and to their horror found a youth sexually assaulting her. They caught hold of him and handed over to the police.

Police have arrested Dara Srikant, Chenna Babu Rao and J. Pawan Kalyan.

According to police, Srikant had befriended the woman and promised to marry her and provide her a job. On April 19, he took the woman to GGH, where he was working as a contract employee in the pest control department. He kept her in a room, where he sexually abused her the whole night.

The next day, Srikant’s friend Pawan Kalyan went to the room and raped the victim. On the morning of April 20, the victim’s parents approached Nunna Police Station and lodged a complaint that their daughter has been missing since April 19 evening.

The victim’s parents alleged that the police did not act swiftly though they provided the mobile number from which they had received a call from their daughter. The police asked them to come in the evening.

When the victim’s parents went to the police station in the evening, they were told that they have identified the mobile number. It belonged to GGH employee Srikant.

When police called and questioned Serikant, he said he saw her in the hospital premises and asked her to go home in an autorickshaw. The complainant alleged that police believed Srikant’s statement and made no effort to trace her.

The victim’s parents then went to the hospital to search her and to their utter shock found her tied in a room with a youth sexually abusing her. They caught hold of him and handed over to the police. He was identified as Babu Rao and he told the police that Srikant and Pawan Kalyan also raped her.

Police commissioner Kanti Rana Tata said all the three accused have been arrested. The victim has been admitted to a hospital.

Leaders of opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Jana Sena and Left parties staged a protest outside the police station against the alleged negligence by the police.

Meanwhile, tension prevailed at GGH when Andhra Pradesh Women’s Commission chairperson Vasireddy Padma was stopped by TDP workers when she reached there to call on the victim.

Raising slogans against the government, the TDP workers demanded that Padma should go back.

TDP president and former chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu visited the hospital and called on the victim and her family.

He demanded that the government set up a special court and ensure that all the three accused get capital punishment.

The leader of opposition demanded Rs 1 crore compensation, a job and a house for the victim.

He announced Rs 5 lakh for the victim from TDP.

The TDP president said the chief minister should visit the hospital and call on the victim.