TIRUPPUR: Two gangs comprising seven persons were arrested under the Pocso Act for allegedly abducting and sexually assaulting a girl in Vellakoil during a temple festival.
According to police, on March 9, a 17-year-old girl from Moolanur, who is studying in a polytechnic institute, and her mother went to the cultural programme at the Veerakumar Swamy temple.
The girl got on the stage and danced to a song and then sat in the front row. After a few hours, the mother found her missing and searched for her but could not trace her. She informed her relatives who also searched in the village.
Around 3 am, the girl returned home, and informed her parents that some youngsters took her away under the pretext of making her dance video and posting it on social media. The youths took her to an isolated house and sexually assaulted her. After an hour another group took her in a car to an isolated location in Vellakoil and sexually assaulted her. One of the suspects dropped her in her locality on a bike.
On March 10, the girl’s mother complained to Vellakoil police station. They formed a special team and traced the seven suspects. Two of them were arrested on Monday and five others on Tuesday. They have been charged under section (5g) of POCSO Act, IPC 366 and IPC 506(i). Police are searching for one more person involved in the act.