The nine accused in the Pollachi sexual assault case were given copies of the survivors’ statements here on Wednesday.
The accused were produced before the Mahila Court, Coimbatore, and Sessions Judge R. Nandhinidevi extended their judicial remand till October 28.
In the previous hearing held on October 6, the court had issued directions to provide copies of the survivors’ statements that were recorded under Sections 161 (3) and 164 of the CrPC.
Copies of these statements, which the eight survivors had given to the police and the magistrate, were provided to the nine accused on Wednesday, said court sources.
The nine accused -- N. Rishwanth alias Sabarirajan (26), K. Thirunavukkarasu (28), N. Sathish (30), T. Vasanthakumar (25), R. Manivannan alias Mani (31), K. Arulanantham (34), P. Babu alias ‘Bike’ Babu (27), Haronimus Paul (29), and M. Arunkumar (29) -- have been charge-sheeted by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the case.
While the first five accused were brought to the court from the Salem Central Prison, the remaining four were brought from the District Prison at Gobichettipalayam in Erode.
The police party that escorted the first five accused landed in trouble after the vehicle carrying them back to Salem made a halt on Avinashi Road, around 11 km from the court, where family members were allowed to meet them. Photographs of the accused talking to their family members on the busy Avinashi Road were widely circulated in social media.
