15 convicted in rape of 11-year-old minor girl

Displaying extraordinary grit and determination, the little girl identified almost all her tormentors and spoke to the police and counsellors at length about her harrowing experience

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Ravikumar, 66, had then invited his friends – mostly plumbers, security guards and water suppliers – for the inhuman act.

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.

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.