COIMBATORE: A 23-year-old was awarded life imprisonment on Wednesday by a Mahila court here for abducting and raping two minor girls in Pollachi six months back.
As the girls were abducted by the youth, Guru alias Veerasamy, from the premises of Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church (TELC) in Pollachi, the judge noted that the Church was also responsible for the rape and ordered it to pay `2.5 lakh in compensation to each of the victims. If the church failed to pay up, the RDO office was asked to invoke the Revenue Recovery Act and auction the church property. The judge also appointed a court commissioner, to ensure that the fees for the school education of the victims was provided by the government.
The expenditure on the victims’ education was to be reported to the government every year, the judge ruled, adding that the girls should be provided government jobs after they become majors based on their educational qualifications.
Speaking to Express, R Sarojini, special public prosecutor, said she was extremely satisfied with the “unprecedented verdict” by the judge.