AIADMK, BJP target DMK govt over alleged sexual assault of 15-year-old girl in Tamil Nadu

Chennai: The AIADMK and BJP on Tuesday alleged that a 15-year-old girl was sexually assaulted by eight unidentified men in Tiruvannamalai district and blamed the DMK for the increasing crimes against girls and women in the state.

Expressing shock over the incident at Brahmadesam area of Tiruvannamalai district on April 20, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami said the victim hailed from Kancheepuram district and had gone to her relative's house in Tiruvannamalai.

"There was not a day in the last 5 years of DMK rule that I did not talk about law and order, women's safety, and drug trafficking," Palaniswami said in a post on the social media platform 'X.'

Targeting the ruling DMK dispensation, he said had the government really cared about the people then it would have protected women. "I will eradicate the drug trade that disrupts law and order in just three months after the AIADMK comes to power," he said.

BJP chief spokesperson Narayanan Thirupathy claimed the girl was subjected to the crime while she was travelling to her grandmother's house in Tiruvannamalai.

He said on 'X' that the incident exposed the "failure and administrative incompetence of the DMK government" and demanded the immediate arrest of the culprits responsible for the crime and ensure stringent punishment for them.