Pollachi sexual assault case TN court awards life term to 9 CM EPS spar over women's safety

Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu), May 13 (PTI) A Mahila Court here on Tuesday convicted and sentenced nine men to "life imprisonment till death" in the sensational Pollachi sexual assault case, six years after the incident came to light and sent shockwaves over the audacity of the perpetrators that had prompted widespread calls for justice to the victims.
    The court ruling saw archrivals DMK and AIADMK hit out at each other over women's safety during their respective rules.

Judge R Nandhini Devi, who pronounced the quantum of punishment, ordered an overall compensation of Rs 85 lakh to the eight women victims.

The nine accused-- Rishwanth alias N Sabarirajan, K Thirunavukkarasu, M Sathish, T Vasanthakumar, R Manivannan alias Mani, P Babu alias 'Bike' Babu, K Arulanantham, T Haronimus Paul, and M Arunkumar - all aged between 30 and 39 - were brought to the court from the Salem Central Prison earlier in the day amidst tight security.

Arulanantham is a former AIADMK functionary who was expelled from the party in the wake of his alleged involvement in the crime. The AIADMK was in the ruling saddle when the incident happened.

    The nine men were accused of criminal conspiracy, sexual harassment, rape, gang rape, and extortion, in the series of incidents including blackmail that happened between 2016 and 2018.

    A viral audio clip of a purported victim pleading with the men then had led to widespread anger and anguish across the state.

    On Tuesday, CBI Special Public Prosecutor Surendra Mohan told reporters that all nine accused were charged with Sections 376 D (gang rape) and 376 (2) (n) (repeated rape on the same woman) of the erstwhile Indian Penal Code (IPC) and were convicted by the court and given "life imprisonment till death", as sought by the central agency which probed the matter that had even echoed in the state Assembly.

    CBI had sought for this "highest punishment," he said.

Different life terms ranging from one to five were awarded to the convicted men, with Thirunavukkarasu getting the highest of five, he said. The court also awarded the individuals varying prison terms ranging between 3-10 years.

Besides, the judge imposed an overall fine of Rs 1.50 lakh on the nine, he added.

The victims were mostly college girls and the incident came to light in 2019 after one of the affected women lodged a complaint with the police.

The men were also accused of filming some of their acts.

The incident reported from the western TN town of Pollachi, about 550 km from state capital Chennai, had led to an outrage earlier with many demanding justice to the victims.

While the local police initially probed the matter, it was later transferred to the Crime Branch CID. The case was subsequently handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

To a question, Surendra Mohan said the convicted persons had sought leniency on grounds including their young age and aged parents.

A total of 48 witnesses were examined by the prosecution and none of them turned hostile, he said.

The electronic evidence played a crucial role in proving the charges as they were "scientifically proven."

    Both Chief Minister M K Stalin and Leader of Opposition, Edappadi K Palaniswami welcomed the verdict but also sparred over the matter.

"Justice has been served for the atrocities committed by the wicked criminals including the AIADMK functionary," Stalin said reacting to the verdict, apparently referring to Arulanantham.

    In a post on the social media platform, Stalin said, "Those sirs who tried to protect the guilty in the AIADMK should feel ashamed."

Former CM and AIADMK chief Palaniswami claimed that swift police action, especially in arresting all the criminals, and the prompt decision of his government in handing over the case investigation to the CBI for an impartial probe had ensured justice to the victims now.

"All the offenders in the case were arrested during the previous AIADMK regime. Also, owing to the impartial probe by the CBI, justice has been rendered to the affected women today," he said on X.

Wondering who should really hang their head in shame, the AIADMK leader alleged that the DMK had not initiated action on those responsible for the sexual assault on a woman student on the Anna University campus last year.

"Who is that ‘sir’ you are trying to save, who should bow the head in shame?" the former CM asked.

"If you have even a wee bit of conscience, then you should be ashamed of the plight of women who cannot even step out, and the (number of) POCSO cases being registered every day under your rule @arivalayam," Palaniswami said.

Hailing the judgment, the AIADMK accused the ruling DMK of "engaging in politics" in the case.

Actor-politician and TVK leader Vijay welcomed the verdict and said it would give solace to the victims, who faced the case with courage and ensured that the criminals were punished.

All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) state committee member S Rajalakshmi and CPI (M) Puducherry unit, besides expelled AIADMK leader V K Sasikala hailed the Mahila Court’s verdict.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)