Chennai: A political row has broken out in Tamil Nadu following the recent arrest of four youths from Pollachi, a picturesque rural town in Coimbatore, on charges of befriending scores of young girls on social media, sexually assaulting and filming them for the purpose of blackmail. Though only one complaint has been received, police suspect that at least around 100 victims were affected.
The opposition has alleged that the ruling AIADMK was protecting the accused by booking them under less stringent sections of the law as some influential persons linked to Deputy Speaker Pollachi Jayaraman were involved in the crime. While the issue has been simmering for quite some days, the release of a video in which a victim girl is heard shrieking and screaming with the sexual assaulters to spare her, sparked widespread political and social outrage.
The sexual abuse, believed to be going on for about seven years, first came to light when one girl complained through her brother. The girl said she was befriended by an accused on a social media networking site and lured to meet him. When she met him, three others joined him and sexually assaulted her and filmed the act and used it to blackmail her.
When the four youth, with varying backgrounds, were confronted by the girl’s brother, it led to the seizure of their mobile phones in which videos of sexual abuse of more women were found. However, politicians alleged that the police has not taken action against all the accused. On Monday, DMK leader M K Stalin, MDMK founder Vaiko and PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss demanded strong and independent probe into the incident.
