Audiologist Held for Abuse of Diff-abled

TIRUCHY: An audiologist working in the District Differently-abled Welfare office was arrested by the All Women Police after he was charged for sexually abusing three differently-abled school students who had  approached him for getting certificates and hearing aid.

According to police, three girls from Lalgudi, Kuntur Burma Colony and Kuzhumani in Tiruchy district have been studying at a school for the deaf and dumb in Nagappattinam district and had approached the district differently- abled welfare office to renew their identity cards on September 3. It is mandatory for every differently-abled candidate to have a National Identity Card and a Pass Book with Disability Certificate. They should also update the identity cards so that they can take the plus two public exam.  Since the quarterly exams are approaching, the students were asked to get their id cards renewed.  Hence, the three girls visited the office where P Sellam (36), an audiologist, called the girls for the audition test. After signing across their passport sized photos, he also provided them the hearing aids. After reaching their respective houses, parents of the girls noticed something amiss. After repeated queries, the girl hailing from Lalgudy revealed that the girls were  molested by Sellem during the audition test. When one of the victims spilled the beans, the families of the two others came to know that their daughters also faced the same fate.

The parents of three girls rushed to the All Women Police Station in Cantonment and lodged  a complaint with the help of the functionaries of Tamil Nadu Association for the Rights of All Types of Differently Abled and Caregiver.

On the basis of the complaint lodged by a mother of a girl, the police arrested Sellam.