The Pollachi sexual assault case shook the whole of Tamil Nadu and the nation because of the sheer magnitude of the crime. Scores of women had been tortured. However, it is only now that police have included rape charge in the First Information Report (FIR)
Two months after the first report of the horrifying Pollachi sexual assault case came to the fore, it is only now that the original First Information Report (FIR) has been altered to include rape charge in it.
Reports suggest that Section 376 (punishment for rape) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was added against the accused in the case.
The rape charge was added after an investigation was conducted into other victims of the gang’s sexual assault.
Also read: Pollachi-like sexual assault in Tamil Nadu’s Perambalur
The sexual assault victims not only alleged that they had been raped, but during the course of investigation, were also able to identify the accused.
The Times of India reported that R Manivannan, the fifth accused in the case, confessed to raping 'a few women' along with the other accused Thirunavukkarasu, Sathish, Sabarirajan (alias Riswandh) and Vasanthakumar.
Manivannan alias Mani had been arrested after he surrendered before the chief judicial magistrate's court in Coimbatore last month.
Also read: Pollachi sexual assault case: WhatsApp not sharing details, say police
The Pollachi sexual assault case came to the fore in February when a college student was asked to meet one of the accused during lunch break.
When she met him, he convinced her to get into the car in which three other men also got in. One accused began to disrobe her, while the others filmed the act.
An FIR was filed on February 24 against four men involved in allegedly sexually assaulting and blackmailing her with a recorded video of the crime.
However, police opened a can of worms, when this incident was reported as they found that scores of women had been subject to such sexual, mental and physical torture.
Four men, Thirunavukkarasu, Sathish, Sabarirajan and Vasanthakumar were arrested by the police.
The incident took a political turn when one of the AIADMK functionaries was named in the crime. Soon after, the party dismissed him. The accused are now in judicial remand.
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