Sexual assault of Dalit girl: Probe transferred to CB-CID

Transferring the case relating to the sexual assault of a 22-year-old Dalit girl by a group of men in Virudhunagar district to the CB-CID, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Wednesday said that the charge sheet in the case will be filed within 60 days to ensure that the accused get punishment at the earliest.

Making a statement in the Assembly on the case in reply to questions raised by Opposition Leader Edappadi K Palaniswami, Stalin said he has directed the Director-General of Police (DGP) to personally monitor the probe and ensure that the case is quoted as a “model case” for getting speedy punishment in the country.

Four men, including a DMK functionary, and as many children in conflict with the law have been arrested for sexually assaulting the Dalit woman repeatedly for several months. The case triggered a political slugfest as a DMK member, Junaith Ahmed, is one of the accused – he was suspended from the party on Tuesday.

Also Read | Dalit girl sexually assaulted for months by eight men in Tamil Nadu

In his statement, Stalin declared that he has transferred the case to the Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID) and has appointed a senior officer, Mutharasi, as the special officer. “This case will be taken to a special court by filing the charge sheet within 60 days. The police will seek maximum punishment for the accused, and I would like to mention it here,” Stalin told the Assembly.

Taking potshots at the opposition, Stalin also said the investigations will not meet the fate of the Pollachi sexual assault case in which AIADMK men were said to be involved.

27-year-old Hariharan, the prime accused in the sexual assault case, befriended the Dalit woman on a social networking site and they soon became friends.

“On the pretext of marrying the girl, Hariharan had sex with her and made a video of their intimate moments. The girl had been asking Hariharan to marry her but in vain. Finally, when the girl decided to marry someone else, Hariharan threatened her by showing the video,” a police officer had said.

Hariharan also sent the video to his friends, who began sexually assaulting her.

The shocking incident came to light after the victim called the women's helpline and complained about the sexual assault. After the initial inquiry, police booked eight persons on charges of rape under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

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