In a swift response, Ongole police on Sunday arrested six accused, including three minors, for allegedly wrongfully confining and gang-raping a 17-year-old girl for six days, within 24 hours of receiving the complaint.

One of the minor, who was fleeing to Chennai, was chased, and nabbed at K Bitragunta after the train he was travelling in was made to halt, police said.

The girl was initially forcibly taken inside a mobile phone shop by one of the accused and sexually assaulted and later confined in a room where she was repeatedly raped multiple times by the six accused, police said. The main accused is reportedly a differently-abled person.

The state government and police took a serious view of the incident to assure stringent action against the six accused and also to provide all possible medical and other assistance to the victim.

Announcing the arrest of all the six accused in the case, Prakasam district Superintendent of Police Siddharth Koushal said the girl, a resident of Guntur town and native of Prakasam district, last month took her grandfather to a private cancer hospital in Vijayawada city for treatment.

Here she got acquainted with one Ramu, who works as a private car driver, and is a native of Ongole. The two exchanged their numbers and were in touch since then. On June 15, after she returned to her native in Guntur, the girl's mother saw her talking over the phone and rebuked her.

On the following day, the girl called up Ramu and told him about her mother's objections. On hearing this, Ramu called her to Ongole, to which she obliged by boarding a bus.

After reaching Ongole around 7 pm, she tried to contact Ramu but couldn't get through his number. Having waited for almost four hours, she approached SK Baji, differently-abled person who was sitting at K R mobile shop near the bus stop. She requested Balaji, the main accused in the incident, to call Ramu. Taking advantage of her situation, Baji forcibly took her inside the mobile shop and allegedly sexually assaulted her. Next morning, he left the place leaving the girl alone. The girl went back to the bus stand and waited there for Ramu, whose phone was still switched off.

Around 2 am on June 18, Baji, his friend Avula Srikanth Reddy and a minor came to the bus stand and after chatting with her for sometime, took her to a room near a hospital near the bus stand. "The trio threatened the girl and sexually assaulted her one after the other and left the room the next day morning. The girl was again left alone in the room. After a while, three other accused, including another minor and a third person identified as P Mahesh, came to the room and sexually assaulted the girl one after the another,'' the SP said.

The girl was repeatedly sexually assaulted between June 20-22 and around 3 am on June 22, one of the minor accused left the girl at the Ongole bus stand. "Members of SHAKTI Teams, which keeps an eye on innocent and vulnerable girls and women from anti-social elements, found the victim and after coming to know about the assault took her to the police station and a complaint was registered around 10 pm on Saturday,'' the SP said.

A case under Sections 348, 376 (D) of IPC, and Section 6 of POCSO Act-2012 were registered by Ongole I Town police and investigated.

Ongole Taluka police led by inspector M Laxman, who incidentally was transferred and took charge on Saturday only, swung into action and nabbed five of the accused from Ongole town itself. "We came to know that one of the accused is fleeing to Chennai in a train and our team started a chase. We alerted the police en route to Chennai and at K Bitragunta, the train was stopped with the help of railway officials and the accused was nabbed,'' police said.

The girl is under treatment in RIMS, Ongole. Earlier in the day, minister Balineni Srinivas Reddy visited the girl at the hospital and asked the doctors to provide better treatment to her. Home minister Mekathoti Sucharita called up Prakasam district SP and inquired about the case and sought swift and stern action against the accused.

Meanwhile, Director General of Police Gautam Sawang, condemned the gruesome incident and said the state police will give priority to the protection of women and children. He assured of stern action against the accused and appreciated the police for the swift action.