Five held in Tamil Nadu's Nagapattinam for gangraping 14-year-old girl for a month

The incident came to light when the class IX student of a government aided school in Puducherry got pregnant after which her teachers alerted the parents.
Representational image (Express Illustrations)
Representational image (Express Illustrations)

NAGAPATTINAM: Five persons were arrested on Thursday for allegedly sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl for a month. The assault took place six months ago  and came to light as the girl is pregnant now.

According to sources, the girl is staying in a hostel and studying class 9 in a government aided school in Puducherry. Her parents are from a village in Cuddalore and are working as sanitary workers in a village near Velankanni. The girl had come to the village in April to be with her parents during summer vacation. When she was alone after her parents left for work, she used to visit her 41-year-old neighbour to watch television. 

A youth named P Surya (20) from the locality befriended the girl and took her around the town on sightseeing trip. It was during the trip that he raped the girl. Surya told his friends about his relationship with the girl.

Three of his friends took advantage of the situation and brought the girl to their place and raped her. Three others including the 41-year-old man whom she used to visit also sexually assaulted the girl. The rapists threatened to kill her parents if she informed anyone.

Traumatised, the girl returned to school after holidays. Six months on, her friends, classmates, teachers and hostel wardens noticed that her abdomen was unusually getting bigger. When the school management made an inquiry, she narrated her ordeal. They then informed her parents who met SP of Nagapattinam, S Selvanagarathinam, and lodged a complaint. The accused were arrested based on information provided by the girl. 

Five persons have been arrested so far including Surya, P Das (41), M Veeraiyan (19), D Reuben Karl Marx (22) and K Gokul (19). Search is on for two more suspects who are absconding.

A case has been registered in All Women’s Police Station in Nagapattinam on Thursday. The suspects were booked under several IPC sections including rape and under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

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