CHENNAI: Three special teams, each led by a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), have been formed by the Thiruvallur district police on Friday to arrest the man who allegedly abducted and raped a 10-year-old girl near Gummidipoondi a week ago. A senior official said the Thiruvallur district superintendent of police (SP) will supervise the investigation.
Sources said the teams have fanned out to areas like Gummidipoondi and Sulurpeta in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, a few kilometres from the inter-state border, to search for the suspect, as the police doubt, the suspect may have been shuttling between the villages across the border.
The incident happened on July 12, when the girl was returning from her school. She was abducted by a man and allegedly raped at a secluded spot in a mango grove near Gummidipoondi. The girl later escaped from the spot and informed her grandmother who took her to the Ponneri Government Hospital, after which she was transferred to the Government RSRM hospital in Chennai.
The police have obtained CCTV footage of the individual and are now working on location tracking data to zero in on the suspect. A case has been registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
A Class 4 student, the victim has been living with her grandparents, while her parents live across the border in Andhra Pradesh.
AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami said the incident is deeply shocking, heart-wrenching, and hit out at CM MK Stalin questioning the state of law and order. Palaniswami demanded the arrest of the suspect and urged the government to ensure proper treatment for the victim.