THOOTHUKUDI: Mathar Sangam activists on Monday urged the district administration not to grant bail to the men accused in a gang rape case in Kurumbur near Eral.
In a petition submitted to District Collector Dr K Senthil Raj, the activists said a 24-year-old woman from Usilampatti, who went to Kurumbur to visit a prayer centre in Nalumavadi, hired an auto to go to the prayer centre in the late evening hours. "The auto driver took her to a secluded place and sexually assaulted her, following four others joined the driver and sexually assaulted her under a bridge," the petition said.
Based on a complaint, the Kurumbur police arrested the five accused in connection with the rape case. The victim woman was sheltered at a government-run home in Thoothukudi.
District secretary Poomayil urged the district administration not to grant bail to the accused. The victim should be given compensation for the sexual assault, she demanded. The victim has no parents and lives under the custody of her relatives who have been trying to grab the property in her name, she alleged.
As the victim has been affected both physically and psychologically, the district administration must take steps to provide medical counselling for the victim, she added.