Trial into alleged kidnap and assault in Harborough district has been delayed by three months

The trial of three men accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a woman in a hamlet near Lutterworth has been delayed by three months.

The case was pencilled in to start today (Monday) at Leicester Crown Court but has now been put back until the end of September.

It’s not known why the trial is being shelved until the autumn.

The suspects were arrested after the victim, aged in her 30s, was allegedly kidnapped and subjected to a serious sexual attack in the early hours of Sunday January 16.

The assault is said to have taken place by St Leonard’s Church in Misterton, near Lutterworth.

Vahar Manchala, 22, of Gaul Street, Leicester, has been charged with two counts of sexual assault, two counts of assaulting a female aged 13 and over by penetration with a part of his body/a thing and one count of kidnap/falsely imprisoning a person with intent to commit a relevant sexual offence.

Rana Yellambai, 28, of Gaul Street, Leicester, is accused of one count of one count of kidnap/falsely imprisoning a person with intent to commit a relevant sexual offence and one count of assaulting a female aged 13 and over by penetration with a part of his body/a thing.

Ajay Doppalapudi, 25, of Gaul Street, Leicester, has been charged with one count of one count of kidnap/falsely imprisoning a person with intent to commit a relevant sexual offence and one count of assaulting a female aged 13 and over by penetration with a part of his body/a thing.