A mentally ill woman, apparently from North India, was sexually assaulted by a group of youth at Nannilapadi in Nagapattinam district a few days ago. Though there are allegations that the woman was raped, the five youths who were arrested have been booked on the charge of prostitution under Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act.
According to police, the suspects saw the victim, aged about 25 years, wandering near a restaurant here on August 23 and allegedly lured her by offering eatables. One of the youngsters took her to a secluded place and sexually assaulted her. Seven others of the same area also assaulted her. Residents of the locality informed the Village Administrative Officer about the incident, who, in turn, lodged a complaint with the Velankanni police on Tuesday.
Based on the complaint, the police arrested the five youths. They were identified as S. Karthick (23), N. Murugavel (25), Chithiravel, S. Sampath (22) and N. Mathiazhagan (23). They have been booked under Section 7 (1) of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act and remanded to 15 days judicial custody.