Painstaking investigation, surveillance and immense patience. That’s how the police in Cyberabad’s Balanagar Zone tracked down and arrested a man accused of raping a minor girl in May 2023 earlier this week.
The accused, Robinson Cornell, was arrested on May 21 when he came to a hospital in Secunderabad to see his ailing grandmother.
According to the police, Cornell was booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act of 2012 in May 2023, based on a complaint from the girl’s father. In his complaint, the father said his daughter had gone missing on May 23 that year, along with Rs 30,000 in cash. She allegedly returned to the city a week later and told him she had been raped, prompting the police to add rape charges.
Police claim that the suspect, Robinson alias Lucky, 23, who also lived in Balanagar, met and befriended the girl over her summer holidays that year, first engaging her in casual conversations to gain her trust.
“Over time, Robinson began complimenting her and discussing plans to go out together. He used a neighbour to pass messages and facilitate phone calls between them,” K Suresh Kumar, deputy commissioner of police, Balanagar Zone, told . “Manipulating the victim, he convinced her to elope, suggesting they take money from her home to enjoy the holidays.”
According to the police, Robinson visited the victim at 8 pm on May 22 and instructed her to leave home at 1 am the next morning with some cash, clothes and her mother’s phone.
“Following his directions, she packed her school bag, took Rs 30,000 from her mother’s box, and left at the scheduled time,” the DCP said. “At 2 am, Robinson took her to Secunderabad railway station, where they boarded a train to Visakhapatnam. There, Robinson took her to an acquaintance’s house, where an unidentified elderly man was present. For two days, he confined her and raped her twice, causing physical injuries and bleeding.”
Robinson allegedly panicked when the girl cried for help and promised to take her back home. On May 29, 2023, they returned to Secunderabad by train. At the station, Robinson asked her to wait while he fetched some water but he fled.
“The victim borrowed a stranger’s phone and called her father, who immediately rescued her and later reported the incident to the police,” the DCP said.
