LONDON: Three men of Indian descent, who coerced a woman into getting in their car in UK’s Leicester city last year, have each been jailed for 10 years, police said.
Ajay Doppalapudi (27), Vahar Manchala (24) and Rana Yellambai (30), who were sentenced at the Leicester Crown Court on October 6, were found guilty of kidnapping the woman, following a trial in September.
The three had approached the victim, who had been on a night out at Leicester city centre, in the early hours of January 16 last year.
The victim got into their car, an Audi, believing it was a taxi, but when it drove along Narborough Road away from her house she realised something was not right, the Leicester Police said.
They then drove her 15 miles and eventually stopped in a secluded area of Misterton, just off the M1, near Lutterworth, where the victim was pulled from the car.
The prosecution told the court that the woman was “drunk and vulnerable” and became “increasingly alarmed and frightened” as she was taken to an isolated area, the media reported.
The police said that after a while, the victim was able to escape and ran off to reach a motorway where she began trying to attract attention.
“After a short time, officers arrived and she was taken to a place of safety, where she disclosed what happened,” the police said.
Subsequent CCTV enquiries identified the car in Leicester city centre, and found that the registered keeper was living at Gaul Street in the Westcotes area of Leicester.
Officers visited the address and all three men who lived at the property were arrested.
“Without doubt, the three men involved in this case were predators. They were in the city centre in the early hours that Sunday morning looking for a woman to take advantage of to fulfil their own sexual gratifications,” Detective Constable Gemma Fox, the investigating officer, said after the sentencing.
“I cannot commend the victim enough for her immense bravery in recounting her ordeal both to police and again in front of a jury. The account she was able to provide was vital in ensuring that we were able to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice,” Fox said.
Doppalapudi and Yellambai were also charged with two counts of sexual assault on a female and two counts of sexual assault by penetration.
They were both found not guilty of both counts of sexual assault on a female, as well as one count of sexual assault by penetration.
The jury was unable to reach a verdict on the other count for either man Manchala was also charged with two counts of sexual assault on a female and two counts of sexual assault by penetration.
The jury was unable to reach a verdict on any of these indictments Doppalapudi and Yellambai were also each charged with two counts of sexual assault on a female and two counts of sexual assault by penetration.
They were both found not guilty of both counts of sexual assault on a female, as well as one count of sexual assault by penetration.
The jury was unable to reach a verdict on the other count for either man.
Manchala was also charged with two counts of sexual assault on a female and two counts of sexual assault by penetration.
The jury was unable to reach a verdict on any of these indictments.