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The jury in the trial of an alleged grooming gang has been discharged for legal reasons. Six men face allegations of rape and other sexual offences against two teenage schoolgirls in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, on various dates between 2003 and 2006.

Alleged ringleader Tahir Rashid, 54, is also said to have targeted a third young girl who he is accused of raping in the late 1980s.

Mr Rashid, from Rochdale, and co-defendants Mohammed Saleem, 46, of Rochdale; Sucklane Shah, 46, of no fixed abode; Itfaq Hussain, 45, of Shawforth; Arshad Mohammed, 55, of Rochdale; and Amjad Mahmood, 53, of Rochdale, deny any wrongdoing

Jurors had heard evidence at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court since October after the prosecution opened it's case. On Thursday, December 11, Judge Matthe

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