Pollachi sexual assault case: Coimbatore court sentences nine accused to life imprisonment

The Mahila Court in Coimbatore, on Tuesday, found all the nine accused in the sensational Pollachi sexual assault case guilty and sentenced them to life imprisonment. The case involved sexual harassment of young girls by politically influential men in 2019.

Judge R. Nandhini Devi pronounced the quantum of sentence at the special court set up for trial, after hearing the arguments put forth by the prosecution and the defence. The court also ordered a compensation of Rs 85 lakh to the eight survivors of the sexual assault.

The nine accused in the case are: N. Sabarirajan aka Rishwanth (32), K. Thirunavukkarasu (34), M. Sathish (33), T. Vasanthakumar (30), R. Mani aka Manivannan (32), P. Babu (33), T. Haronimus Paul (32), K. Arulanantham (39), M. Arunkumar (33) of Panikkampatti.

The accused have been charged under sections 376 D and 376(2)(n) of the Indian Penal Code. Section 376 D is a non-bailable section which attracts rigorous imprisonment for gang rape. Under this section, life imprisonment is for a term which shall not be less than 20 years and can extend to the person’s natural life apart from the fine which is paid to the victim. Section 376 (2)(n) attracts maximum punishment for repeated rape of the same woman. “The prosecution prayed for maximum punishment for the accused, considering the gravity of the charges against them,” CBI’s public prosecutor Surendra Mohan informed the media after the judgment was pronounced.

Mohan said all the nine convicts will now have to undergo life imprisonment for the remaining period of their lives for offences committed under section 376 D.

What is the Pollachi sexual assault case all about?

A horrifying video, in which a girl is heard pleading “Anna vitturunga anna.” (Brother please let me go), went viral on social media in 2019. The blurred visuals of abuse, which showed a girl being beaten by some men, shook the state. As Pollachi police began the probe, details of systematic sexual abuse and blackmailing of several young girls by perpetrators with political backing emerged.

The chilling incident came to light when a college girl lodged a police complaint on February 24, 2019, with the Pollachi East police, alleging sexual abuse by four men in a moving car near Pollachi. The 19-year-old survivor was the first complainant in the case. She was allegedly lured and sexually assaulted by the nine men since 2016. In her complaint, she said the perpetrators filmed the abuse. The video was later used to exploit her sexually and monetarily.

It all began when the girl was picked up by her boyfriend Sabarirajan in a car on Dharapuram road in Pollachi. On the way, the two were joined by his friend Thirunavukkarasu. While Thirunavukkarasu was driving the car, Sabarirajan sat in the back with the girl. Later, Sathish and Vasanthkumar also joined them. The four men then forcefully assaulted her and recorded a video. They also snatched the gold chain she was wearing. The video was used to exploit her sexually and monetarily for the next few years. Later, the girl informed her brother who went and attacked one of the accused.

The girl then filed a police complaint. Upon investigation, the mobile phones and the laptops of the nine men showed that they had blackmailed several young girls and harassed them. While there were videos of more than 150 young girls in the devices seized from the nine men, the CBI identified 12 women and convinced them to come forward and testify against the accused. However, only eight of them deposed before the court including the girl who filed the complaint.

The case took a political turn as one of the accused belonged to the ruling AIADMK. Arulalnadham was the AIADMK Pollachi town students’ wing secretary. He was expelled by the party after the news came out. Meanwhile, another person, identified as Bar Nagaraj, who was the local secretary of the Amma Peravai of the AIADMK got involved in the case when he attacked the brother of the survivor who filed the complaint. Although the case was initially transferred to the Crime Branch CID, it was handed over to the CBI when it took a political turn.

The CBI ensured that none of the victims were identified in the case. The CBI and the Mahila court recorded all the statements in a closed room.
All the eight women testified against the nine men. Though there was a glitch in the investigation when Coimbatore Superintendent of Police R. Pandiarajan revealed the name of the complainant during a press conference, the CBI took it forward with much confidentiality, doing everything possible to protect the identity of the survivors.

Following the directives of the Madras High Court, a special courtroom facility was set up at the Combined Court Complex in Coimbatore for the trial to ensure that the identities of the survivors were protected. A special chamber was set up at the court with a one-way glass to prevent others from seeing the survivors during the hearing and the trial of the case, which began on February 14, 2023. A total of 40 witnesses were examined and three chargesheets were filed by the CBI, apart from other incriminating documents including the video and audio footage recovered from the devices of the nine men.

India