TIRUCHY: A 30-year-old man was detained by the Tiruchy city police on Wednesday night for allegedly sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl after taking her in a car in Gandhi Market area here and later abandoning her in a nearby location.
The accused was identified as Mari Selvam from Sivagangai.
According to police sources, the victim had gone to a residential locality around 5 PM to visit her sibling. The accused, who had also come to the area to meet an acquaintance, allegedly lured the girl into his car and sexually assaulted her before abandoning her nearby by 6 PM. Local residents noticed the distressed girl and alerted her family. Her father rushed her to the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital (MGMGH), where she is currently undergoing treatment.
Based on a complaint, the Gandhi Market police initially registered a case, which was later transferred to the All Women Police Station (AWPS), Fort. Investigators tracking CCTV footage identified the suspect with the help of the victim’s relatives. Before police could secure him, the accused was reportedly assaulted by a group of the girl's relatives who spotted him in the locality. He was subsequently detained by the police and admitted to MGMGH for medical treatment.
While allegations of gang rape have surfaced, however, officials maintained that the victim is still undergoing treatment and that further investigation is required to establish the sequence of events.
