TIRUPPUR: Police on Friday arrested a 55-year-old man under Pocso Act for sexually assaulting a girl and making the minor abort the baby in Dharapuram. A nurse attached to the Dharapuram Government Hospital was also arrested for her role in the Dalit girl’s abortion.
According to a police source, the accused farmer of Ponnivadi village in Dharapuram owned several acres of farmland in the locality. The 16-year-old girl was working as a farmhand in his field. The accused sexually assaulted her repeatedly, and three months ago, the minor became pregnant.
The accused immediately got the help of a nursing staff attached to Dharapuram GH and made the child abort her pregnancy. The girl later told her parents about the incident and her parents lodged a complaint with the All Women Police Station (Dharapuram). On Thursday, a case was registered under Pocso Act, and the man and the nurse were arrested on Friday and remanded in custody.
Speaking to TNIE, joint director of medical services Dr Kanagarani said, “We haven’t received the FIR copy since it’s a Pocso case. The nurse has a history of complaints and she was transferred to Dharapuram GH a few months ago as part of a punishment.”