<p>A Special Women’s Court trying cases under the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act here on Saturday convicted 15 of the 16 accused on trial for raping a 11-year-old girl for six months inside an apartment complex in a residential locality here.<br /><br />Special judge Manjula held 15 of the offenders as guilty, while acquitting one person, P Gunasekaran. A total of 17 persons – aged between 23 and 66 – were arrested by the police in July 2018. Another accused, N Babu, died while in custody.<br /><br />Judge Manjula announced in the court that the quantum of sentence to the accused will be awarded on Monday. Police moved swiftly in the case and filed charge sheet within a month while the trial was completed in just 15 months.<br /><br />Heavy security was deployed outside the court complex and even media were not allowed inside. The details of the verdict were given to the media by lawyers.<br /><br />The case that shook the conscience of the people of Tamil Nadu came to light in July 2018 when the elder sister of the 11-year-old hearing impaired girl came home and discovered some bruises and injury marks on the younger one.<br /><br />After some affectionate prodding from her sister, the minor girl, who otherwise kept to herself, narrated her lurid experience – that she was first sexually abused by Ravikumar, the lift operator, sometime in January 2018.<br /><br />Ravikumar, 66, had then invited his friends – mostly plumbers, security guards and water suppliers – for the inhuman act.<br /><br />The accused were booked under Section 5 (Aggravated penetrative sexual assault), Section 10 (Aggravated sexual assault) and Section 12 (Sexual harassment of a child) of POSCO Act and Section 376 (Gang-rape of minor girl), Section 328 (Causing hurt by intoxicating a person), Section 307 (Attempt to murder), Section 341 (Wrongful restraint) and Section 376 AB (Raping girl below 12 years of age) of IPC.<br /><br />During the investigation, it came to light that the men had used every trick to ensure that the child does not open her mouth -- poking her with and threatening at knifepoint, mixing sedatives in cold drinks and emotional blackmail.</p>
<p>A Special Women’s Court trying cases under the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act here on Saturday convicted 15 of the 16 accused on trial for raping a 11-year-old girl for six months inside an apartment complex in a residential locality here.<br /><br />Special judge Manjula held 15 of the offenders as guilty, while acquitting one person, P Gunasekaran. A total of 17 persons – aged between 23 and 66 – were arrested by the police in July 2018. Another accused, N Babu, died while in custody.<br /><br />Judge Manjula announced in the court that the quantum of sentence to the accused will be awarded on Monday. Police moved swiftly in the case and filed charge sheet within a month while the trial was completed in just 15 months.<br /><br />Heavy security was deployed outside the court complex and even media were not allowed inside. The details of the verdict were given to the media by lawyers.<br /><br />The case that shook the conscience of the people of Tamil Nadu came to light in July 2018 when the elder sister of the 11-year-old hearing impaired girl came home and discovered some bruises and injury marks on the younger one.<br /><br />After some affectionate prodding from her sister, the minor girl, who otherwise kept to herself, narrated her lurid experience – that she was first sexually abused by Ravikumar, the lift operator, sometime in January 2018.<br /><br />Ravikumar, 66, had then invited his friends – mostly plumbers, security guards and water suppliers – for the inhuman act.<br /><br />The accused were booked under Section 5 (Aggravated penetrative sexual assault), Section 10 (Aggravated sexual assault) and Section 12 (Sexual harassment of a child) of POSCO Act and Section 376 (Gang-rape of minor girl), Section 328 (Causing hurt by intoxicating a person), Section 307 (Attempt to murder), Section 341 (Wrongful restraint) and Section 376 AB (Raping girl below 12 years of age) of IPC.<br /><br />During the investigation, it came to light that the men had used every trick to ensure that the child does not open her mouth -- poking her with and threatening at knifepoint, mixing sedatives in cold drinks and emotional blackmail.</p>