Pollachi sexual assault case: TN Mahila court holds 9 arrested men as guilty

Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu): Six years after it came to light, all nine men arrested in the sensational Pollachi sexual assault and extortion case were convicted and sentenced to "life imprisonment till death" by a Mahila Court here on Tuesday. Judge R Nandhini Devi who pronounced the quantum of punishment, ordered compensation of Rs 85 lakh to the eight 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. CBI Special Public Prosecutor Surenda 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 CBI which probed the matter that had even echoed in the Tamil Nadu Assembly. Different life terms ranging from one to five were awarded to the convicted men, with second accused Thirunavukkarasu getting the highest of five, he said. The court also awarded the individuals different prison terms ranging between 3-10 years. Besides, the judge imposed an overall fine of Rs 1.50 lakh on the nine, he added. According to Jisha, special public prosecutor, Mahila Court, Coimbatore, not a single witness in the sensitive case turned hostile and that the anonymity of the victims was protected. During the trial, about eight affected women had deposed. "The Hon'ble Mahila Court gave a judgment in the Pollachi case, which has been a sensitive issue for the past six years and it has found that all the nine accused are guilty," she said.

All those facing the charges have been accused of criminal conspiracy, sexual harassment, rape, gang rape, and extortion, in the series of incidents including blackmail that happened between 2016 and 2018. 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, about 550 km from state capital Chennai, caused an outrage earlier with many demanding justice to the victims. While the local police initially probed the matter, it was later transferred to the CB-CID. The case was subsequently handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Surendra Mohan said that the agency had sought the "highest punishment" of lifer till death. To a question, he 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." "This is a welcome verdict. The CBI's efforts didn't go waste. It is a just verdict," he added. A total of eight separate cases were clubbed together in this matter.