Six months after a 17-year-old Dalit girl was raped and murdered at K. Pichampatty village in Karur district, special police teams have cracked the sensational case by arresting two persons, including an ex-convict.
The ex-convict S. Ramachandran (31) confessed to having raped and murdered the minor girl in a betel vineyard, besides robbing her ear studs, police said.
His accomplice C. Manikandan was arrested on the charge of assisting Ramachandran in disposing of the stolen property and hiding the offence.
The two were produced before the Judicial Magistrate Court II, Kulithalai, on Friday and remanded in judicial custody.
In June last year, the minor girl of K. Pichampatty village was on her way home on a bicycle after her day’s work at a mosquito net manufacturing unit near Karur when the crime was committed. The rape and murder sparked off angry protests from villagers who demanded the arrest of the culprits.
A team from the National Commission for Scheduled Castes conducted an inquiry at the village after taking serious view of the heinous crime committed on a minor. As many as 21 special teams were constituted to probe the case.
During the course of the probe in a robbery case, the police questioned Ramachandran, who is also alleged to have been involved in several property crime cases. Investigations revealed that Ramachandran had raped and murdered the minor girl, a police press release said.
He was taken into police custody on Thursday in connection with the case. The police have recovered the stolen ear studs and a two-wheeler used by the accused during the crime. Further investigation was on in the case.
Joshi Nirmal Kumar, Superintendent of Police, Karur, said Ramachandran, a native of Nangavaram village in Kulithalai taluk in Karur district, was involved in 18 cases of robbery and theft in Karur, Tiruchi, Thanjavur, Erode, Sivaganga, Madurai and Dindigul districts.
Ramachandran has been charged with rape and murder for gain, Mr.Kumar said.
