COIMBATORE: A 17-year-old girl has been badly beaten up allegedly by her father and her employer over a theft allegation in Pollachi. Her father was arrested on Friday after the all-women police station, Pollachi, filed a case against him and her employer.
Police invoked Pocso charges also against her employer, an owner of a coir pith mill near Koolanaickenpatti in Pollachi, and formed a special team to nab him as the girl complained that she was molested by him.
The girl, who has been admitted to the Udumalpet Government Hospital on Tuesday with blunt force trauma, told doctors that she was thrashed by the duo. The Pollachi police registered a case under Section 164 of the BNSS Act.
The girl had completed Class 12 but dropped out of a nursing course. She lived with her grandmother in a village near Gomangalam, near Pollachi, as her parents were separated.
A few months ago, she joined as a sales person at a textile shop in Pollachi. However, she was fired recently amid suspicion of stealing Rs 10,000. She then started to work at the coir pith mill where her grandmother and father are daily-wage labourers. She was assigned labelling work at the unit.
Meanwhile, on Monday, the textile shop owner visited the mill to get back the money which she had allegedly stolen. After settling the issue, the father, employer Arun, and a few others questioned the girl and allegedly beat her up. She was allegedly molested by Arun. Unable to bear the torture, she fainted. Then, she was admitted to the Government Hospital at Udumalpet, where she revealed the torture she faced.
Based on the girl’s statement, the police registered a case against her father, the employer and a few others under the provisions of the BNS Act, Juvenile Justice (care and protection of children) Act and the Pocso Act.