CHENNAI: All the 17 men arrested for the alleged gangrape of a 11-year-old girl in an apartment in Chennai have been detained under the Goondas Act by an order of the city police commissioner A K Viswanathan on Thursday.
The detention under Goondas Act would make it difficult for the accused to get released on bail for the next one year, unless the High Court quashes the detention.
The incident that came to light on 15 July shook the nation as around 22 men gang raped the 11 -year-old girl with hearing and speech impairment for the past seven months.
The police arrested 17 men from the age of 25 to 66. Six of the 17 men were above 50 all who were working as plumbers, security guards and house keeping. Soon after the incident the residents of the apartment cancelled all the outsourced workers. The identification parade was conducted on 25 July and the men were produced in the mahila court.
Ravikumar, 56, of Aynavaram; Suresh, 32, of Kolathur; Rajasekar, 40, of Ayanavaram; Erald Bross, 58, of Perambur; B.J. Sugumaran, 65, of Kathirvedu; Abishek, 23; Murugesu, 54; Paramasivam, 60; Palani, 40; Jayaganesh, 28; Gunasekaran, 55; Babu, 36; Deenadayalan, 50; Jayaraman, 26; Surya, 23; M. Raja, 30, and Umapathy, 42, are the list of suspects who were produced before the court.
The offenders were booked under Sections 307 (Attempt to murder), 506(ii) (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 5 (Punishment for aggravated penetrative sexual assault), 10 (Punishment for aggravated penetrative sexual assault) and 12 (Punishment for Sexual harassment) of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.
A few more wanted by the police in the case are still at large.