MAYILADUTHURAI: A week after the body of a 13-year-old girl was retrieved from an agrarian drain channel, a 24-year-old relative of hers was arrested for sexually assaulting and murdering the girl. According to sources, the body of Sakthi*, a Class 9 student, was found in a channel in a village near Kuthalam of Mayiladuthurai district. Sakthi was the last among four siblings in the family.
Her father died a few years ago. Her mother was employed as a daily wage labourer, her elder sister worked in a supermarket, her elder brother in rubber factory and another elder brother in a sculpture-making unit. As all of them were busy earning whatever little they could for the family, they were not able to spend much time with Sakthi.
Praveen*, the alleged perpetrator who stayed close to their house, worked in a borewell company. He had allegedly coerced the girl into a physical relationship, which lasted for months. Around 7 pm on October 7, the girl had told her mother that she was going to her uncle’s house, which is a few houses away from theirs. When she did not return home for a long time, the family started searching for her. Praveen also joined the search.
Around 11 pm, the family filed a complaint at the Kuthalam Police Station. The villagers noticed the girl’s body floating in an agrarian drain channel behind her uncle’s house around 1 am. They retrieved the body and brought it to her house, where relatives noticed bloodstains on her clothes. The police suspected sexual assault and confirmed it after an autopsy. The family refused to accept the body and protested seeking action against the perpetrators.
A team of senior officials began investigating the case, and during a search at Praveen’s house, found a dhoti of his which had semen traces. Following interrogation, the police shortlisted six suspects, including the victim’s uncle.
An investigating officer said, “We learnt that the victim was strangulated after a sexual assault on that night. We figured out that she might have been murdered by someone she knew. After a series of interrogations, Praveen confessed to having committed the crime. He had strangulated her with his dhoti following an argument, and thrown her into the channel, where she died of asphyxiation.”
* Name changed