CHENNAI: A three-year-old girl, raped allegedly by a 19-year-old migrant worker from Bihar on Sunday evening in Gummidipoondi, succumbed to multiple grave injuries at the Stanley Government Hospital in Chennai on Monday morning.
The accused, identified as Bibin Manji of Musambur in Bihar, has been booked for murder and offences under Sections 5 and 6 of the Pocso Act. He was employed at a steel unit at the SIPCOT estate near Pudupettai in Tiruvallur district.
According to police, the girl was the daughter of migrant workers from Bihar, and the accused is an acquaintance. According to the child’s mother, the girl was playing near her home around 5 pm on Sunday when the accused started interacting with her. Since the suspect is known to the family, the mother did not object to it.
Police said Bibin lured the child on the pretext of buying snacks, took her to an isolated spot about 200 metres from home, sexually assaulted her, and dumped her in the bushes.
Child underwent surgery, but died later
When the child did not return after dark, her parents grew suspicious and, along with neighbours, launched a search. After more than two hours of search, the girl was found in the thicket with grave injuries, police sources said. The child was rushed to the Government Hospital in Kottakarai, Gummidipoondi, around 8 pm and was later referred to Stanley Government Hospital in Chennai in a critical condition.
A doctor at the Stanley Hospital said the child was in shock and had respiratory distress. “When the victim was brought in, her condition had worsened, and doctors performed surgery to stabilise her,” the doctor added. However, she succumbed to her injuries around 7 am on Monday. After the postmortem examination at Stanley Hospital, the child’s body was handed over to her family. Sources said the child would be laid to rest in Gummidipoondi.
Police sources said the suspect has been living alone in the area for about a year. The victim’s parents, aged 37 and 30, employed in a company in Pudupettai, were residing in the area with their three children — two girls and a boy.
Meanwhile, on Sunday night residents launched a search for the accused and found him behaving suspiciously in the area. When questioned, he allegedly attempted to flee, prompting residents to apprehend and assault him before SIPCOT police arrived and took him into custody.
Bibin was produced before the Tiruvallur Pocso court under heavy police security and remanded in judicial custody on Monday. In an interim relief order, the special court for exclusive trial of cases under the Pocso Act, Tiruvallur, directed the director of social defence to pay Rs 8 lakh as compensation to the family of the deceased child within 15 days.
The court observed that the amount was being awarded under Rule 9(1) of the Pocso Amendment Rules, 2020, to address the immediate needs of the victim’s family and provide relief and rehabilitation in view of the mental and physical trauma suffered. It further stated that the interim compensation would be adjusted against any final compensation awarded later in the case. The order was passed while allowing a petition seeking interim compensation for the victim’s family. The court noted that the investigation into the case is still pending.