Three days after a 17-year-old girl allegedly committed suicide for being sexually harassed, the Mangadu police arrested a 21-year-old college student on Monday in connection with the case.
In a suicide note found from her room, the teen has mentioned that “a girl is safe only in the mother's womb or grave.”
The accused, Vicky alias Vignesh of Karayanchavadi, was a senior of the deceased at the same school. Police claimed that the two became friends on Instagram and the accused posted pictures of him working out in the gym on social media which gained the girl's attention and eventually developed into a relationship.
Currently, Vignesh is pursuing electronics and communications engineering at a private engineering college.
According to reports, the 21-year-old boy has confessed to the police that he was sexually harassing her.
"The boy has confessed to a physical relationship with the minor girl. In the last two weeks, he had been harassing and torturing her. We have located filthy messages and the exchange of photographs. They had a good friendly relationship for eight months before all this," a police official was quoted as saying by NDTV.
The accused has been booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
It is to be noted that the suicide note which had 'Stop Sexual Harassment' on top and ended with the words 'Justice for me' did not specify who had harassed her, mentioning 'relative, teacher, everyone'. Based on this, the police are probing if she was harassed by anyone else too.
In the suicide note, she also mentioned that the school was not safe and teachers could not be trusted, adding that she could not even study or sleep because of "mental torture even in her dreams".
"Every parent should teach their kids and sons (to treat) girls with respect," wrote the 17-year-old.
The girl's mother had stepped out for an hour and upon returning, she found that the teen had allegedly died by suicide.
(Assistance for those having suicidal thoughts is available on Tamil Nadu's health helpline 104 and Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050)