NE NEWS SERVICE
COIMBATORE, MAY 13
In a landmark judgment in the sexual assault case that took place at Pollachi in Tamil Nadu in 2019, the Mahila Court convicted all the nine charge sheeted accused under various sections of law for sexual assaults, including gang rape of eight victims.
Judge R. Nandhini Devi pronounced the quantum of sentence at the special court set up for trial, after hearing the arguments put forth by the prosecution and the defence
The nine men from Pollachi were arrested for blackmailing, sexually assaulting, and videographing eight young girls and women between 2016 and 2018. The accused were prosecuted for multiple offences.
The nine accused in the case are: N. Sabarirajan aka Rishwanth (32), K. Thirunavukkarasu (34), M. Sathish (33), T. Vasanthakumar (30), R. Mani aka Manivannan (32), P. Babu (33), T. Haronimus Paul (32), K. Arulanantham (39), M. Arunkumar (33) of Panikkampatti.
The accused have been charged under sections 376 D and 376(2)(n) of the Indian Penal Code. Section 376 D is a non-bailable section which attracts rigorous imprisonment for gang rape.“The prosecution prayed for maximum punishment for the accused, considering the gravity of the charges against them,” CBI’s public prosecutor Surendra Mohan informed the media after the judgment was pronounced.
Mohan said all the nine convicts will now have to undergo life imprisonment for the remaining period of their lives for offences committed under section 376 D.
On February 24, 2019, a college girl lodged a complaint with the Pollachi East police, alleging sexual abuse by four men in a moving car near Pollachi. The 19-year-old was the first victim to to speak up against the accused, who were allegedly luring women and sexually assaulting them since 2016. They also filmed the sexual acts, which they later used for further sexual exploitation.
This case was entrusted to the CBI after a big uproar in 2019. After investigation a total of 3 chargesheets were filed against nine accused persons. A total of 48 witnesses and 206 documents were examined.
According to a CBI statement, the investigation of this sensitive case was conducted by CBI with extreme care and in a scientific manner, painstakingly collecting all the scientific evidence during investigation.
“All the 8 victims were given adequate emotional and moral support by CBI both during investigation and during the trial proceedings which was conducted in a specially designated Court in order to ensure that the privacy and identification of the victims were not breached. Witnesses were also properly given protection and it is pertinent to mention that not a single witness turned hostile,” the CBI statement said.
All accused have been awarded with a sentence of life till death. They have been awarded sentences for other offences too. Also, the victims have been awarded a commutative compensation of Rs. 85 lakh to be paid by District Legal Aid Authority, according to the statement.
