There was another man involved in the rape and murder of a seven-year-old girl at Thudiyalur in March according to the forensic report, legal sources said here on Friday.
Verdict today
A day before the verdict is set to be pronounced by the Mahila Court on Friday, the victim’s mother submitted a petition on Thursday regarding the involvement of another man other than the accused Santhosh Kumar.
The petition was based on the forensic report, which detected the presence of “DNA profile of a male individual” in addition to the accused, sources said.
In connection with this, a group of lawyers and activists held a press meet saying that the alleged second person involved must be brought to justice following the verdict on Friday.
Senior lawyer P. Rathinam, and lawyers C. Venmani and S. Balamurugan and TPDK president K. Ramakrishnan were present in the press meet.
“We are not attempting to interfere with the judgment,” Mr. Balamurugan told The Hindu , noting that the lawyers are bringing the findings of the forensic report to the court’s knowledge.
“If the findings are true, the second person must also be brought to justice,” he said.
On March 25, the seven-year-old girl was sexually assaulted and murdered in a village near Thudiyalur. Police arrested Santhosh Kumar, 32, on March 31 and remanded him in judicial custody at the Coimbatore Central Prison.
The verdict in the case will be pronounced on Friday by Mahila Court Judge J. Rathika.
