CHENNAI: In a shocking incident, the city police have arrested eight people in connection with forcing a teenage girl into flesh trade. According to the police, the victim was allegedly raped by at least eight to ten men in a day. Adding to the pain is that the victim had no idea what she had been through, because the accused had normalised the brutality as “work”, said the police.
Rashmi*, a 35-year-old mother of seven, started working as a housemaid after her husband eloped with another woman, two years ago. Her daughter, Deepa* (13), seeing her mother’s plight in taking care of the family, dropped out of her school and accompanied Rashmi in household chores.
Five months ago, Rashmi’s niece asked her to send Deepa over, to help take care of her two children. Little did Rashmi know that her daughter was about to be subjected to an unimaginable nightmare in just two months, by her own kin. Deepa had attained puberty just a few months back, and her mother thought it was not safe for her to be living in the area during this time, and so, sent her with her niece, who lived in North Chennai.
“The mother did not know that her niece had left her husband and was staying with another man. In fact, it was he who first sexually assaulted the victim. The niece allegedly asked the victim to “adjust” after she complained of discomfort,” said a police officer, adding that the main accused, Kumar* had sent her to different pimps, who in turn, invited several “customers”, and earned anywhere close to Rs 1 lakh a week.
The incident came to light after Rashmi insisted on seeing Deepa after being refused several times by Kumar. The girl did not have external injuries and is suffering from acute pain in her private parts, said the police. “It’s such a barbaric act. She has no emotions on her face,” said the officer.
Kumar, his mother, sister, the latter’s husband, and the victim’s cousin, have been arrested by the police, apart from three more brokers. Two other women too were rescued from the custody of the accused. A senior officer attached to the Crime Against Women and Children wing said, they have prepared a statement and booked the accused under the POCSO Act, and are now apprehending the remaining part of the network.
(*Names have been changed to protect identities)
Deceased’s wife, in-laws suspected in triple murder
Chennai: A day after three of a family were shot dead at Sowcarpet, the police have launched a manhunt for four relatives of the deceased, including a woman, as they are found to have visited the house at the particular time when the trio was murdered. Incidentally, the deceased had lodged a police complaint in September, claiming that their in-laws had been bothering to give a huge sum of money.
The police who had issued a CSR, had directed them to the court as it was a civil dispute. The deceased, Dileep Thalil Chand (74), his wife, Pushpa Bhai (70), and their son, Sheetal (40) were found dead by the daughter of the couple on Wednesday night. Based on preliminary investigations, the police said that a car with four people, including Jayamala, Sheetal’s wife, had pulled in front of the house around the time they were murdered. Police suspect that the trio was gunned down in a deal gone wrong. A senior police officer said that a CCTV footage was also assessed which shows them near Tiruvallur, before entering AP at around 9.30 pm. He also added that five special teams have been formed to nab the suspects.