10 months of torture for girl

Police arrested five persons, including a juvenile on charges of raping a 13-year-old school girl several times in last ten months. The incident came to light on Friday evening when the girl lodged a police complaint.

Police said the first assault on the girl took place in April 2012 when her maternal uncle Gopala Krishnan took her to Balasundaram’s (72) house at Ramalinga Jothi Nagar as the girl complained of stomach pain.

“Balasundaram had injected a tranquilliser to the girl after which she fell unconscious. The girl regained conscious five hours later and was shocked to find herself naked. When she questioned Krishnan, he told her that he had removed her clothes and threatened her not to reveal it to anyone. Krishnan’s relative, ‘Raagam’ Karuppusamy (43), had also sexually exploited the girl that day,” said a police officer involved in the investigations. Subsequently, Krishnan and Karuppusamy frequently took the girl out and raped her  after she attended puberty in May. Police said Karuppusamy had also assaulted the girl after taking her to a farm house at Pollachi.

Police said the girl lodged a police complaint on Friday after two of her male cousins emboldened her. “The two sons of prime accused Krishnan had noticed that the girl was depressed and she revealed to them the torture she was being subjected to by Krishnan. The two boys gave her courage to lodge a police complaint. We arrested all the five accused by 5 am on Saturday,” said assistant commissioner Ramakrishnan. The juvenile offender -- a painter -- who allegedly had consensual sex with the girl, has also been arrested, as it is an offence to have physical relations with a minor girl. “The girl’s mother had deserted the family and married another person. The girl’s father, a roadside vendor, was also not keen on taking care of his child. It is the sheer negligence of the parents which has encouraged the abusers,” said an investigating officer.

Besides IPC section 376(2)(g) (gang rape) and 506 (i) (criminal intimidation), police have also invoked sections 4,5 and 6 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012. All the five accused were remanded in judicial custody after being produced before a judicial magistrate. The All Women’s Police is investigating the case.