Woman sexually assaulted by five men in Vellore

In yet another shocking incident, a woman was allegedly sexually assaulted by a group of five men in front of her male friend, who was robbed of Rs 40,000 in cash, in Vellore.

The incident which took place on March 17 came to light only on Tuesday, a day after four men and as many children in conflict with the law was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a 22-year-old Dalit woman in Virudhunagar district.

Five persons, including two children in conflict with the law, have been arrested for the sexual assault of the woman, who hails from outside the state after she filed an online complaint. The incident, which was unreported, came to light when police interrogated two persons – Bharath and Manikandan – following a complaint by one Raman that the duo attacked him.

It was when police questioned the duo, a larger crime unfolded before them. Bharath and Manikandan told the police that they picked up two friends from near Galaxy theatre in Vellore in the wee hours of March 17 in their autorickshaw and took the vehicle to a desolate place. Of the five, two are children in conflict with law.

“They confessed that the duo and three of their friends sexually assaulted her. Moreover, they dragged the male friend to an ATM and forced him to drop Rs 40,000 and handover the money to them,” a senior police officer said.

In a detailed statement in the Assembly, Chief Minister M K Stalin said: “The survivor went back to her home town and a complaint was filed via online on Tuesday. Following this, a case was registered.”

The accused were booked under Sections 147 (punishment for rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with a deadly weapon), 342 (punishment for wrongful confinement), 365 (kidnapping), 368 (wrongfully concealing or keeping in confinement, kidnapped or abducted person), 376 (d) (gangrape), 395 (punishment for dacoity), and 506 (ii) (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the IPC.

They have also been booked under section 4 of the Tamil Nadu Women Harassment Act.

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