The case of a minor girl pushed into flesh trade by her father, took an ugly turn on Wednesday with police arresting a Sub Inspector on charges of raping the minor girl.
The tragic tale of the 17-year-old girl hit the headlines in June when police arrested her father Muthupandi, who had served as a Jawan in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and her brother Karthik on charges of physically abusing the girl and arranging ‘clients’ for her.
After she was rescued, the girl, who was studying Plus-Two, gave a confessional statement before a magistrate under Section 164 Cr PC giving details of those who had abused her. The District Child Welfare Committee (CWC) rescued her and admitted her to a home in Chennai for further studies.
Meanwhile, passing orders on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Vincent, an advocate, the Madras High Court directed the All Women Police here to inquire into the matter and submit a report, police said.
The All Women Police, which probed the case under the supervision of Assistant Superintendent of Police Vanditha Pandey, arrested Sankar, Sub Inspector, attached to the town police station and three others under the provisions of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.
The other accused were identified as Aravind (22), a sales representative, Suresh Kumar (32) who is running a computer centre and Senthil Kumar (36), a mike set operator. All the four were produced before a Magistrate court and remanded in judicial custody, police said.
Police also questioned an Inspector of police who had served here and presently posted in Madurai city and a conductor of the State Transport Corporation, who had allegedly raped the girl. The girl is believed to have named 25 persons in her statement, police added.
Sundar, District Child Probation Officer, said the girl who had passed Plus-Two examinations, scoring more than 800 marks, was counselled by the CWC and admitted to a home in Chennai to pursue higher studies.
All Women Police arrested SI Sankar and three others under the provisions of POCSO Act, 2012