A 65-year-old man who sexually assaulted an eight-year-old girl committed suicide after local village leaders held a ‘katta panchayat’ and slapped a fine of Rs 5,001 on him for the offence last month. The incident, which came to light after several weeks, took place in a village in Kallal block.
Police said Mahadeven (65) of Alampattu, a Dalit hamlet in Kallal block, visited the victim’s house on August 17 and sexually assaulted the girl when she was alone after returning home from school.
District Collector V. Rajaraman ordered an enquiry after the crime was brought to his notice. N. Sivakumar, District Probationary officer, Department of Social Defence, conducted an enquiry and found that the ‘village elders’ had abetted the crime and set free the perpetrator after imposing the fine amount. The man, however, ended his life by hanging about ten days ago, Mr. Sivakumar said.
After he lodged a complaint, Kallal police arrested seven people, including the girl’s father and five village elders, who conducted the katta panchayat, under Section 21(1) (failure to report case to the police) and Section 17 (abetment of offence) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.
Jothi Basu (41), the girl’s father, and five village elders were produced before a Sessions court and remanded in judicial custody, he said.
Mr Sivakumar, who enquired into the matter on Tuesday with social workers, told The Hindu that the village elders had prevented Santhi, the survivor’s mother, from reporting the matter to the police, stating that they would deal with the case.
Later, they summoned Mahadeven, the offender, to the katta panchayat.
After holding him guilty, they slapped a fine of Rs 5,001 on him. The girl’s father, a painter and habitual drunkard, was present at the meeting, Mr Sivakumar said.
He said the old man had paid the fine amount, but when the girl’s mother refused to accept the money, the village elders returned the money to the accused and “closed” the case. Meanwhile, the girl was sent to a relative’s house in Chennai and given medical treatment.
Petitions were sent from Chennai to the Chief Minister’s Cell with copies to the District Collector and Superintendent of Police, after which the Collector ordered an enquiry, Mr Sivakumar said.
In another case, police arrested S.Vijayendran (61) of Peravalur near here for sexually assaulting a four-and-a-half-year- old girl, who had come to his shop for buying toffee, police said. He was charged under POCSO. He was produced in court and remanded in judicial custody.
