TIRUCHY: Nine persons, including seven juveniles, were arrested under the Pocso Act on Saturday night for allegedly sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.
According to police, the girl went missing from her home on May 14. Based on a complaint lodged by her parents, the Palakkarai police registered a case and launched a search operation. They found the girl at a park in the city on May 15 and handed her over to her parents.
Police sources said the girl had left home on her own and this was the third time she did so, allegedly due to lack of parental care.
She was subsequently taken to a children’s home.
According to police, the girl informed the staff at the care home that she had been sexually assaulted by nine persons on different occasions. The staff alerted the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), Tiruchy. The committee held inquiries with the girl and lodged a complaint with the Fort All Women Police on June 4.
During inquiry, it was revealed that the suspects A Mohanraj (19), M Kishore (20) and seven minor boys befriended the girl through Instagram and sexually assaulted her on different occasions, police said. While Mohanraj and Kishore were remanded in Tiruchy Central Prison, the juveniles were sent to a government observation home in Thanjavur.