COIMBATORE: A medical examination of a 10-year-old girl at a primary health centre (PHC) near Pollachi has led to the discovery of sexual abuse of the child and four other minor girls. The girl, who had been taken to the PHC for a problem in the urinary tract, has identified three minor boys as the perpetrators in a confession statement. While all three boys were arrested, investigation by the District Child Protection officials suggests that one of the three, a 15-year-old, could be innocent.
According to District Child Protection Unit (DCPU), the minor girl was examined for a doctor at the PHC for possible urinary tract infection. It was then that the doctor found evidence of sexual abuse. When inquired about it, the girl explained that three minor boys — two of them class VIII dropouts and one currently pursuing class X — have been sexually harassing her and four other girls (aged nine, eight, seven and six). On April 6, based on the doctor’s recommendation, DCPU and Childline officials visited the elementary school and recorded an official statement by the 10-year-old girl. Two days later, on April 9, based on police suggestion, a complaint was registered by P Shanthamani on behalf of DCPU. Subsequently, police booked a case against the three boys and arrested them. They were all sent to a juvenile home.
Speaking about the investigation, DCPU official P Kavitha told Express that While all juvenile boys claim innocence during the meeting with the counsellors, the 15-year-old boy’s statement rings truer. “He claimed that he warned the girls and boys against being involved in a sexual relationship. When he took the matter to his mother, he said he was asked to stay out of it since he has a sister,” he explains.
Stating that they may not know if the boy had actually abused the minor girls, Kavitha said that he would not have taken up the issue with his mother if he had been involved himself.
Police officials said that his claims of innocence can be proved only if the girls were subjected to a medical examination. The boy was currently in the middle of taking up his class X board exams. “While he has already written two, he has to appear for the rest in the coming days. It is a good that he is allowed to write the other subjects in the supplementary exam as he is being kept in juvenile home now,” she adds.