DHARMAPURI: Five days after a 16-year-old tribal girl was allegedly raped by two youth, the victim succumbed to injuries at the government Dharmapuri hospital on Saturday. The death triggered an impromptu protest, with the relatives of the deceased staging a road blockade against the alleged negligence by police and hospital authorities.
They also refused to accept the body of the deceased until the accused were immediately arrested.
The tribal residents of Sitling refused to disperse until the collector gave an assurance. Over 500 residents from 20 villages participated in the protest.
Sources said that the sexual assault took place on Monday when the 16-year-old had gone to attend nature's call. She was allegedly accosted and raped by Satish (22) and Ramesh (23), residents of the
same village. The girl was found in an unconscious state by other villagers, who alerted the family of the victim. A case was registered the same day and the girl was handed over to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) by the police. Meanwhile, the girl's condition deteriorated at the CWC Home on Monday evening. Sources said that the girl suffered a bout of vomiting and fainted several times. The girl was taken to government Dharmapuri hospital, where she died.
'Rape attempted, said police'
This is where the details get murky. The Chairman of the Child Welfare Committee, Saravanan, told Express that the police brought the girl to them and introduced her as a victim of attempted rape. Saravanan claimed to have no knowledge of the girl being a rape victim. When asked why the CWC did not investigate the matter, he said that they refrained as the girl was in trauma, and was scared. Though they wanted to interrogate the girl the next day, she fell ill and was admitted to the hospital, which took four days to get the test results.
"Had the police or the hospital authorities informed us of rape, we would have expedited the probe," Saravanan added.
Accused on the run
While the Kottapatti police registered a case, the accused absconded. Speaking to Express, the victim's parents said they were let down by the police. "Our child was looking forward to celebrate Deepavali, but this happened. My daughter's killers are roaming free. The police neglected us as we are tribal," they said. The family accused the government of negligence, and said had the doctors taken good care of her, she would not have died.
Reason for death yet to be confirmed
When contacted, Resident Medical Officer of government Dharmapuri hospital, Govindharaj, said that they provided the victim the best care. "The cause of death is yet to be confirmed and the postmortem
examination is being carried out," he added. Deputy Superintendent of Police Chellapandian told Express that a case has been registered under POCSO Act and they were close to arresting the two.