COIMBATORE: A day after two girls were kidnapped from a children’s home in Pollachi and raped, police detained two ‘prime suspects’ in connection with the crime on Friday.
Seven special teams were formed to nab the culprits, who had on Wednesday night gained entry into the home and abducted two girls at knife-point before raping them. The rapists had reportedly attacked a young boy after he tried to resist their attempt. The home, which has been reportedly operating without licence for the past two decades, has since been closed and the children have been moved to another facility.
Meanwhile, the special teams launched an ‘intensive investigation’ into the incident and zeroed-in on notorious eve-teasers in the area.
Interrogations with one of the detained persons, led the police to the two prime suspects. Sources said that one was from Udumalpet, and the other was from Coimbatore. The eve-teaser had reportedly confessed to the police that the suspects had asked him to join in on the act before breaking into the hostel on the intervening night between Wednesday and Thursday.
The Superintendent of Police, M Sudhakar, told Express that several suspects have been detained. “As a result there is a ‘concrete progress’ in the investigation of the case,” he said.
“Some substantial details into the incident will be revealed tomorrow (Saturday) as some loose ends need to be tied up in the investigation,” said another top official from the Coimbatore district police.
Cops also revealed that one of the main suspects was a history-sheeter with a notorious criminal record.
The police had also sought help from commercial establishment owners by showing them photographs of several accused. Speaking on the condition of the two victims, Sudhakar, said both were doing normal and were also being given proper medicare. One of the children, who suffered injuries, had been treated and was being constantly monitored, he said.
On Friday, after the Chief Minister had announced `3 lakh compensation to the victims, parents of the two minors met the collector, who handed them the cheque, said sources.
Meanwhile, the working women’s association of the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) in a meeting held on Friday, condemned the incident. The association, while appreciating the government’s offer of `3 lakh to the victims, sought the aid be increased to `10 lakh.