Anantapur, Oct 13 (IANS): Four persons have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the gang-rape of two women in Andhra Pradesh's Sri Sathya Sai district, the police said on Sunday.
The accused are being questioned by the police at an undisclosed location. Police teams were on the lookout for two other accused.
The arrests were made after the police obtained CCTV footage from the area where a woman and her daughter-in-law were sexually assaulted by a gang.
The accused, said to be habitual criminals, committed the gang rape after assaulting male members of the family at a remote village in Chilamattur mandal on the intervening night of October 11 and 12.
The family from Bellary in neighbouring Karnataka had migrated to the village for a livelihood.
Some unidentified persons barged into the premises of a paper mill, which was under construction, and assaulted two men working as security guards. They later gang-raped the women.
The shocking incident, which was reported from the Hindupur Assembly constituency, created a flutter across the state.
Meanwhile, Minister for Backward Class and Economically Weaker Sections Welfare S. Savita on Sunday called on the victims at a hospital in Hindupur, where they were undergoing treatment.
The minister assured them all the help from the government.
She said six accused were all 'ganja' addicts and involved in several crimes. Police investigations revealed that they were also convicted in a few cases.
Savita alleged that such incidents were happening due to the failures of the previous government.
The minister said the government would act with an iron hand to end to menace of 'ganja'.
Earlier, Sri Sathya Sai District Superintendent of Police V. Ratna on Sunday visited the scene of the offence and met family members of the victims.
The police scanned the CCTV footage in the area. Though some cameras around the crime scene were found damaged, the police could retrieve the footage from some other cameras.
All the accused are reported to be aged between 25 and 30. They were involved in several crimes and were even convicted in some cases.
The victims were undergoing treatment at a hospital in Hindupur. Police have recorded their statements as part of the investigation.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Hindupur MLA Nandamuri Balakrishna spoke to the family members of the survivors over the phone and assured them of all support from the government.