Chennai:
A periods courtroom in Coimbatore has convicted all 9 males accused of sexually assaulting and blackmailing a number of girls in Tamil Nadu’s Pollachi, the trial for which had gripped large public consideration in 2019. Choose R Nandhini Devi discovered them responsible of gangrape and repeated rape. The punishment can be pronounced at midday. The prosecution has sought life sentences for the convicts.
The convicts are Sabarirajan alias Rishwanth, 32, Thirunavukarasu, 34, T Vasantha Kumar, 30, M Sathish, 33, R Mani alias Manivannan, P Babu, 33, Haron Paul, 32, Arulanantham, 39, and Arun Kumar, 33. They’ve been lodged on the Salem Central Jail since their arrest in 2019.
This morning, they have been delivered to the periods courtroom below heavy police safety, whereas vigilance was additionally intensified throughout Coimbatore. The courtroom advanced and different key places have been closely guarded.
In the course of the listening to, the general public prosecutor highlighted that the trial was based mostly on over 200 paperwork and 400 digital proof, together with forensic-validated movies of the assaults. “The survivors’ testimonies, supported by digital proof, have been pivotal. No witnesses turned hostile, and the Witness Safety Act ensured their identities and security,” he mentioned.
Nevertheless, he mentioned solely eight survivors formally reported the crimes they have been subjected to, underscoring societal stigma and worry of retaliation.
Ladies’s rights activists welcomed the convictions however demanded a systemic follow-through. “This verdict is a reduction, however survivors want compensation, counselling, and authorities job assurances to rebuild their lives,” mentioned a member of the Tamil Nadu Ladies’s Collective.
The Pollachi Case
The Pollachi case had uncovered a chilling sample of exploitation, involving not less than eight girls, together with a school scholar. The survivors have been sexually assaulted, filmed, and blackmailed for sexual favours and cash between 2016 and 2018.
The 9 males have been charged with the stringent sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), together with rape, gangrape, repeated rape of the identical survivor, prison conspiracy, sexual harassment, and blackmail.
Officers mentioned that the crimes occurred between 2016 and 2018, throughout which the convicts filmed their acts of sexual assault and used the footage to coerce victims into continued exploitation.
The case was initially probed by the Pollachi police, nevertheless it was transferred to the Tamil Nadu Crime Department-Legal Investigation Division (CB-CID), and later to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) amid calls for for an neutral inquiry.
In the course of the probe, a sample of systemic abuse was uncovered, with the survivors alleging that the accused threatened to leak their movies to their households and communities in the event that they refused to conform.
The trial additionally drew scrutiny as a litmus check for justice in circumstances of gender-based violence, significantly these involving extended coercion and institutional delays. Ladies’s rights advocates and civil society teams carefully monitored the proceedings, emphasising the necessity for accountability the place survivors typically face stigma and procedural hurdles.
The AIADMK, which was then in energy, had confronted criticism for alleged makes an attempt to cowl up the case and the late submitting of the FIR. It had then denied the costs.