Pollachi sexual assault case: CBI arrests AIADMK functionary, 2 others

Nearly two years after taking over the sensational case, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday arrested three more persons, including a functionary of the ruling AIADMK, for their alleged role in the Pollachi sexual assault case that sent shock waves across Tamil Nadu.

With this, the number of arrests in the case, which came to light in March 2019, has gone up to eight. Five persons were arrested immediately after the CBI took over the investigations in 2019.

K Arulanantham (34), secretary of Pollachi town students' wing of the AIADMK, Heran Paul (29), and Babu (27) were arrested from Pollachi, 45 km from Coimbatore, based on a statement of another victim recorded by the CBI recently. The trio was produced before a Mahila Court in Coimbatore, which remanded them to judicial custody till January 20.

Arulanantham, who is considered close to many AIADMK leaders in the region, is said to have taken three bars on lease.

The fresh arrests triggered a strong reaction from principal Opposition, DMK, which has been accusing AIADMK men of being behind the case. DMK chief M K Stalin, and party MP Kanimozhi alleged that Tamil Nadu has become “unsafe” for women and expressed hope that the CBI will ensure justice is done to the survivors.

On its part, the ruling AIADMK expelled Arulanantham from the party for “bringing disrepute” to the outfit. Social media was dotted with pictures of Arulanantham with Local Administration Minister S P Velumani and other AIADMK leaders.

The Tamil Nadu government handed over the case to CBI after it was alleged that over the past seven years several AIADMK men were involved in sexually harassing and assaulting women in and around Pollachi, 44 km from Coimbatore, after befriending them.

The investigations began after a 19-year-old girl filed a police complaint alleging that four men harassed her both “physically and sexually” inside a car and robbed her of a gold chain. Police said the gang had attempted to strip the girl inside a car near Pollachi and had shot a video of the act and blackmailed her using the visuals and tried extortion.