COIMBATORE: With the Pollachi sexual abuse scandal getting bigger and murkier, the State government has written to the Central Bureau of Investigation requesting it to take up the case.
The decision came on Tuesday, hours after the case was handed over to the CB-CID and the four accused were booked under the controversial Goondas Act.
"The State government has decided to hand over the case to CBI. The CB-CID will inquire the case till the CBI takes over," DGP TK Rajendran said in Chennai on Tuesday.
The decision seems to have been prompted by public outrage that poured out on roads and across social media.
Political leaders, cutting across party lines, have also demanded stringent investigation and action.
Mother of K Thirunavukkarasu, one of the accused, was surrounded by a mob when she came to the court for his bail hearing.
The bail petition was rejected by the court.
"Detaining the accused under Goondas Act might encourage other victims to come forward and file complaints," a senior police official told Express.
While police suspect that over 50 women could have fallen prey to the gang, only a 19-year-old has come forward, so far, to lodge a complaint.
"We have been trying to include another victim, whom we identified from the assault videos, in the complaint. We are not sure if they will cooperate" said the police official.
Meanwhile, the victim's brother and uncle met District Collector K Rajamani and requested that the issue not be politicised.
They submitted a petition, allegedly written by the victim, claiming that local MLA and deputy Speaker Pollachi V Jayaraman was being "defamed on social media with ulterior political motives".
The decision to seek CBI inquiry into the Pollachi sex abuse case triggered another round of political mud-slinging. While PMK and AMMK urged the State government to hand over the case to CBI, VCK chief Thol Thirumavalavan raised suspicion over the "hasty decision".
He demanded a court-monitored probe into the case rather than a CBI probe. DMK MP Kanimozhi, meanwhile, was detained for staging a protest over the issue in Pollachi, without police permission.
Deputy Speaker Pollachi V Jayaraman, whose name has been dragged into the case by political opponents, addressed the media for the second time in two days.
He filed a petition with the Chief Electoral Officer on Tuesday and claimed that the opposition parties were making false allegations against him and his family.
"The DMK is unleashing canards for political gains," Jayaraman said.
"The victim released an audio clip and her brother released a video clip saying that I have been supporting them. Till now, the DMK has not given any evidence to prove that my son or my family are involved in the case," he said.
A petition submitted to the District Collector, purportedly written by the victim, claims the investigation was proceeding on the right path.
"Using my name and the incident of atrocity for political gains must not be allowed," read the petition, which goes on to say that Jayaraman, who is also the local MLA, helped her dad approach the police.
"My family and I met the MLA on February 24, seeking help in reporting the crime. He spoke to the DSP and asked for stringent action to be taken. He also asked the police to give proper protection to my family," the petition read.
Pollachi rape case: Law college students stage protest
TIRUNELVELI: Boycotting their classes, the students of Government Law College, Tirunelveli, on Thursday, staged a protest demanding severe punishment to those involved in the Pollachi rape.
They demanded severe punishment to those involved. They also urged the State government to grill the suspects to find out if any politician is involved in the assault.