Police have arrested two persons, including a 17-year-old girl, for assaulting a 13-year-old girl at Pattuvanpatti village in Palur near Madhanur. The girl was dragged out of her home, kept tied to an electricity pole for three hours and beaten up by a group of villagers, who accused her of stealing money.
The Ambur Taluk police arrested Hemalatha (30) and Lakshmi (name changed), the 17-year-old girl, of Pattuvanpatti a day after they assaulted Kavitha (name changed), a class VIII student.
Kavitha had accompanied Lakshmi to a marriage on Thursday morning. While returning home, Lakshmi had given a bag containing clothes to Kavitha when she went to attend nature’s call.
On Thursday evening, Lakshmi along with Hemalatha and some of their relatives landed at Kavitha’s house and accused her of stealing Rs. 2,200 from the bag.
They dragged her out of the house, tied her to an electricity pole in the village and beat her using a stick, while villagers and her relatives watched silently.
Following an inquiry, the police nabbed the duo and booked them under sections 294 (b) (uttering obscene words), 324 (punishment for wrongful confinement), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (1) (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code and also under a section of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act.
