Four persons, including a woman, were arrested, and a minor boy detained, on Tuesday, in connection with the case of sexual assault on a minor girl registered by the Tiruvaiyaru All-Women Police in Thanjavur district.
The 14-year-old girl had been allegedly subjected to repeated sexual assaults by the 16-year-old minor boy over the last six months. Of the four others, one had behaved inappropriately, and the remaining three — two men and the woman — had allegedly tortured her by inflicting burns and beating her up.
The Tiruvaiyaru All-Women Police held the minor boy and arrested the four others — M. Kannan alias Gopalakrishnan, 29; M. Mahendran, 35; S. Sivakumar, 35; and R. Vidya, 28.
On October 18, Mahendran and Sivakumar residing in the same locality had allegedly tied up the girl to a tree and inflicted burns, blaming her for stealing Mahendran’s mobile phone, a charge she stoutly denied at the time of inquiry by the police.
Vidya, also a neighbour, had joined the two men in the alleged torture.
The girl had thereafter managed to take shelter in a banana grove from where she was rescued by her father.
A case against the five persons has been booked under IPC sections including 342 (wrongful confinement), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), and 355 (assault or criminal force with intent to dishonour person) read with sections 5 (L), 6, 8 of POCSO Act.
