In a horrifying crime, a woman doctor hailing from Bihar was allegedly gang-raped by three persons including two juveniles, while two co-accused held her male colleague, in Vellore district shortly past midnight on March 16. All five persons have been arrested. The issue echoed in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday prompting Chief Minister M. K. Stalin to assure the House that action has been taken and the guilty would be punished.
The Vellore North Police said the woman was returning with her colleague, a native of Nagpur in Maharashtra, after watching a night show at a cinema hall in Katpadi when they boarded a share auto rickshaw in which there were four male ‘passengers’. However, instead of going to their destination in the Old Town via the Green Circle on the Chennai - Bengaluru Highway (NH 48), the driver headed towards Sathuvachari. After parking the vehicle at a secluded spot near a burial ground, the five persons assaulted the duo and three of them gang-raped her. The accused also robbed the duo of ₹40,000 cash and two sovereigns of gold jewellery.
After the incident, the woman left for Bihar and lodged a complaint online with the Vellore Superintendent of Police (SP), S. Rajesh Kannan, on Tuesday (March 22) on the basis of which a case was registered. While four suspects, including two juveniles were arrested on Tuesday, the fifth accused, Santhosh, 22, was picked up on Wednesday, the SP said.
Giving details of the case in the Assembly, the Chief Minister said on a complaint from Raman, a resident of Indira Nagar in Sathuvachari that he was attacked by some persons in inebriated condition on Tuesday, the police had arrested Bharath, Manikandan and Santhosh.
“It was during the interrogation that the police found the three [and two juveniles] had abducted a man and a woman from Galaxy theatre, who asked for directions to CMC [Christian Medical College]. They had gang-raped the woman and had forcibly withdrawn ₹40,000 from the ATM using a [bank] card from the man,” the Chief Minister explained while replying to former Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami, who raised the issue.
Mr. Stalin said the survivor had left for Bihar, her home State, and filed an online complaint on Tuesday. A case has been registered in Vellore North police station under Sections 147, 148, 342, 365, 368, 376 (D), 376 (E), 395, 397, 506 (ii) of the IPC read with Section 4 of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.
Vellore SP said the charges against the accused also include rioting, use of deadly weapons, wrongful confinement, abduction, rape, dacoity, robbery and criminal intimidation. The three men have been remanded in judicial custody while the boys have been sent to a correctional home. The stolen valuables were recovered from them.
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister referred to the attack on the personal security guard of the Chairman of the Police Commission, Justice C. T. Selvam, in Chennai and said a case had been filed and the culprits would be apprehended soon.
“I spoke to Justice Selvam and inquired about the incident. I have also advised the Police Commissioner to ensure that similar incidents do not recur,” Mr. Stalin said.
