Three former engineering students were booked by the Andhra Pradesh police on Friday for alleged raping their batchmate and filming the act in 2017.

The main accused, identified as Siva Reddy and Krishna Vamsi, were studying at an engineering college in Agiripalli in Krishna district and the case came to light after the victim approached the Agripalli police along with her parents.

Quoting the complainant, police said that the crime took place in February 2017, when the accused allegedly spiked her drink at a hotel during a birthday party and raped her.

Police said that they also filmed the act and a third classmate began blackmailing her from the last two months, asking for sexual favours and threatening to make the videos public.

“The girl finished her course a couple of months ago. However, another classmate, D Praveen, started blackmailing her asking for sexual favours, saying that he possessed a copy of the video and would upload it on websites if she did not comply. The girl informed this to her father, who in turn lodged a complaint,” the police were quoted as saying.

Police have taken one accused into custody and also seized all their mobile phones. They are also looking to contact the hotel, where the alleged crime took place.

A case has been registered under sections 376 (Rape) 376-B (Gangrape) and 354 (Outraging the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the IT Act against the trio.

The girl was sent for a medical test and the police said that further investigation is ongoing.

Meanwhile, the opposition YSRCP in Andhra Pradesh has been accusing the ruling TDP government of turning a blind eye towards the rising crimes against women in the state.

Earlier this week, a woman Sarpanch from Telaprolu alleged death threats from her husband. In a Facebook post that went viral, she pleaded for help and shared photos of her bruise marks, allegedly inflicted by her husband Yathendra Ramakrishna, who is reportedly a district youth leader of TDP.

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