Madurai : A 15-year-old girl who left home after an argument with her parents was sexually abused — first by a man who approached her on the pretext of helping her and later by another who promised to marry her. Police have booked five people, including two minors, under the Pocso Act .
The Class 10 student left her home in Tirunelveli on October 15 after an argument with her parents over failing a recent examination. She contacted a 15-year-old boy with whom she was in a relationship and travelled with him and his minor friend. Karthik, a divorcee, then promised to marry the girl and took her to his house in Vadipatti on October 16, where he raped her, police said. Acting on information from local residents, police rescued her from Mattuthavani on October 17.
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Police said the two boys harassed her during their train journey to Tiruchendur. Mani raped her there, police said. Investigators said the three men had travelled to the festival intending to commit theft. Police said they would be produced before the Juvenile Justice Board and sent to an observation home.
When she did not return, her parents searched the neighbourhood before lodging a missing-person complaint with Thalaiyuthu police the same day. After their families alerted them about the police search, the boys abandoned her in Tiruchendur, handing her some money before leaving. Three men from Madurai — Karthik and Shanmugasundaram of Vadipatti and Mani of Sendhamangalam — then approached the girl, offering food, money and assistance. Believing them, she accompanied the trio to Kulasekarapattinam, where the Dasara festival was under way. He and Shanmugasundaram subsequently left the town. The girl subsequently escaped with help from local residents and reached the Mattuthavani bus stand in Madurai. Meanwhile, Tirunelveli police traced her movements to Vadipatti using Karthik’s mobile phone location. Karthik, who faced a non-bailable warrant in a separate case registered in Dindigul, was secured and remanded by Dindigul police. The two minors were also booked under Pocso. Further investigation is underway. Download the TOI App.
Mani and Shanmugasundaram were arrested and remanded in judicial custody on Tuesday.