Chennai: Massive protests broke out in the Union Territory of Puducherry on Wednesday after it came to light that a nine-year old girl, whose decomposed body was recovered from a drain near her house the previous day, was gang-raped. The girl had gone missing from near her home on Saturday last and a CCTV had captured the girl moments before she was allegedly abducted.
The Puducherry police said two persons Vivekanandan (56) and Karunas (19) were arrested in connection with the gruesome crime and some other suspects have been detained. A SIT has been set up to probe if more persons were involved in the crime.
Home Minister A Namassivayam said the arrested persons have booked under the provisions of POCSO, SC/ST Acts (girl is a Dalit) and for murder and kidnapping.
The rape-cum-murder of the class 5 schoolgirl, triggered outrage across the country.
“The brutality that happened to a 9 year old girl in Puducherry has shocked everyone. After all, why are the incidents of crimes against daughters continuously increasing in the country? In 2022 alone, 4.5 lakh criminal incidents took place against women, out of which 31 thousand cases were of rape only,” Congress leader Rahul Gandhi posted on X.
“Be it Ankita Bhandari's family sitting on the road in Uttarakhand, or the husband who hanged himself along with his children after not getting justice for his wife's abuse in Madhya Pradesh, or the Spanish tourist who became a victim of gang rape in Jharkhand. Every such incident is a reflection of an insensitive system and a cruel society, which is a matter of introspection for us as a nation. Safety and respect for women is the identity of a developed nation,” he added.
Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangasamy announced a compensation of ₹ 20 lakh to the girl’s family and assured the accused would be charge-sheeted soon and the prosecution would ensure the accused were given maximum punishment by the court.
Puducherry Lt Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan visited the victim’s house and endorsed what the Chief Minister said.
Meanwhile, constituents of the INDIA bloc and the AIADMK called for a bandh on Friday to condemn the alleged inaction on the part of the government in dealing with the case.
