CHENNAI: The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the Madras High Court order that transferred the Pocso case probe in the alleged sexual assault of a 10-year-old girl in Anna Nagar to CBI in October. The apex court also ordered the constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) and asked the state police to send a list of seven IPS officers belonging to other states who are working in Tamil Nadu along with their brief bio-data for constituting the SIT.
According to the parents of the victim, the alleged assault came to light after the girl complained of severe stomach ache on August 29. When her parents took her to a hospital, doctors there found the child to have been sexually assaulted. When the parents, along with their daughter, went to Anna Nagar AWPS to file a complaint, they were physically assaulted by the inspector. The police denied the allegation. The FIR was filed on August 30.
The accused, Sathish (31), a neighbour of the victim, was arrested on September 12. On September 1, a 14-year-old boy was also arrested for allegedly raping the girl in 2022. He was produced before Juvenile Justice Board and was later released.
An audio clip of the victim’s statement was also leaked on social media. In the meantime, the victim’s mother filed a habeas corpus petition and the Madras HC took a suo moto cognisance of the case in September and in October ordered a CBI inquiry. The Chennai Police then approached the SC against the HC order.