THOOTHUKUDI: The collarbone of the 17-year-old girl who was found dead with scratch marks on her body in thorny bushes in a village near Kulathur on Wednesday evening, was broken, as per the preliminary autopsy report. According to police sources, 20 people were picked up and five detained for questioning in connection with the incident.
Thoothukudi police, in a statement on Thursday, stated that only the postmortem report and forensic examination by experts would ascertain if the girl was sexually assaulted before her death. The body is preserved at the Thoothukudi Government Medical College Hospital after completion of postmortem examination.
Inspector suspended
Meanwhile, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) P Saravanan issued an order suspending the inspector of Vilathikulam AllWoman Police Station Praveena who allegedly did not register a case when the girl’s parents approached her on Tuesday evening and insulted them.
“The girl went missing on Tuesday. Based on the complaint lodged by her parents, Kulathur police registered a’woman missing case. Later, her body was traced in a secluded location in the village, and it was sent for autopsy. As claimed by a news channel, the body was not severed into pieces. We will take severe action if anyone leaks the victim’s name or her photos,” an official police statement said.
People from the girl’s village intensified their protest and blocked the Thoothukudi-Madurai National Highway for around 10 hours demanding the arrest of the culprits. The girl’s relatives blocked the road in front of the Thoothukudi Medical College Hospital also. A video of a police officer allegedly threatening to imprison protesters went viral. Collector K Elambahavath and SP C Madhan held talks with the girl’s relatives.
The parents told reporters that police had damaged the reputation of their daughter, who was focused on studies and had excelled in her Class 10 examination by scoring 495 marks out of 500. AIADMK leaders, including MLA Kadambur Raju, called on the parents.
Speaking to TNIE, Vilathikulam MLA G V Markandeyan, who was approached by the parents on Tuesday after the AWPS inspector turned them away, said he raised the issue with the SP following which police registered a case on Wednesday. “Police would soon secure the culprits. The villagers should also cooperate with them,” he said.
