TIRUCHY: A 17-year-old Dalit girl was sexually assaulted and strangulated to death in Karur on Monday night, leading to protests by relatives on Tuesday demanding the arrest of the culprits.
The relatives, initially refused to accept her body. However, they relented after negotiations by Revenue officials and police.
Sources said, P Vinitha (17) of Pitchampatti near Mayanur in Karur had completed her plus two and got admission at a college in Karur. It is said, Vinitha went for work in a mosquito net knitting company at Veerarakkiyam in Karur during her annual vacation. On Monday, Vinitha who went to work did not return even after 9 pm and so her father Ponnusamy contacted the factory officials who replied him that she had left for home already. Immediately, Ponnusamy went in search of Vinitha at the houses of his relatives, but was unable to find her.
Hearing the news that the body of a girl was found at a betel farm along Sithilavai-Pitchampatti road, Ponnusamy rushed to the spot and found the bicycle which was used by Vinitha. A few feet away, he found her body. She was found strangulated to death. The condition of her clothes indicated that she could have been sexually assaulted. On information, Mayanur police led by DSP Jameem rushed to the spot. He retrieved the body and sent it to Karur GH for post mortem.
On Tuesday, around 11.30 am, relatives of Vinitha resorted to a road block at Vengamedu-Salem road refusing to accept the body. They demanded immediate arrest of the culprits. On information, Tiruchy SP S Rajeswari, who is also in-charge of Karur, rushed to the spot and held talks with them. Since the talks by the police failed to pacify the crowd, the revenue officials led by Karur RDO Karthikeyan rushed to the spot and conducted negotiations with the relatives of the deceased.Later, around 3.30 pm, they accepted the body.
Meanwhile, SP Rajeswari said, police had secured seven persons and interrogations were on. She asserted that severe action would be taken against the guilty.