VILLUPURAM: The four irular women who were allegedly gang-raped by five policemen in 2011 demanded the arrest of all the accused and sought livelihood support from TN government, saying that the incident continued to take its toll on their lives. This comes a few days after one of the accused, an inspector, was arrested and remanded. They made the demands in a statement released by Tribal Irular Protection of Rights Organisation, headed by activist Kalyani, on Tuesday.
It was in November 2011 that the Thirukovilur police took under custody nine irular men, who lived near Thenpennai river bank at TK Mandapam village, in connection with a theft. They were taken to police station and allegedly tortured brutally. Later, a five-member police team, led by the then Thirukovilur inspector, allegedly barged into the houses of the men, forcibly took the four women to a casuarina woods and gang-raped them. One of the women was three months pregnant and she had a miscarriage later.
"The incident feels as if it happened yesterday. The horror of that night is vivid in our memories; we can't go out freely because of the lingering fear of outsiders, police and the society. Our pictures were in the media over the past 11 years, so everyone was hesitant to give us jobs," said a 31-year-old survivor, who had miscarried after the incident.
Another survivor, aged 29, said even if they landed a job, the employer would soon learn about the incident and start harassing them. "The four of us have nowhere to go because we are made to feel bad for what happened to us, almost every day over the past 11 years."
The survivors demanded that action be taken against all the policemen. They also said training in a skill, which would afford them employment, would be of great help. "My husband died and I have four children to raise and no job. The future is bleak and I am afraid my children would grow up feeling ashamed of what happened to us. So, we seek State government's help to ensure a secure life for us and our children," said another 31-year-old survivor.
A protracted legal battle
After the incident, the women sought refuge in the house of an activist, PV Ramesh, in Villupuram and lodged a complaint with Villupuram Superintendent of Police.
Meanwhile, Kalyani and Ramesh faced a case lodged by another irular tribal organisation in Gingee. The complaint was lodged on December 3 (10 days after the rape) by Pazhangudi Makkal Viduthalai Katchi (PMVK). It alleged that the rape case a frame-up and that the police had merely held an inquiry with the survivors. Kalyani, however, said the PMVK had vested interest in the case and even attempted to kidnap the survivors twice in front of police.
Addressing reporters, Kalyani said: "Police filed charge sheet the same day of receiving a complaint against us but took over two months to register a case in the original rape. The case against us was quashed by the Madras High Court in October 2022. So, it took us 11 years to get justice. It was during the trial of the case (against us) that the court referred to the previous complaints against police and ordered that the inspector be remanded. Now, the rape case will be heard by Villupuram SC/ST Special Court from this week. This is a move forward for the survivors."
According to official sources, a charge sheet in the rape case was filed by the then Thirukovilur DSP Gomathi, but it was sent back to the police for a few corrections. "The corrected charge sheet is yet to be submitted and no summon to the survivors was sent by the court," said Ramesh, also a member of Tribal Irular Protection of Rights Organisation.