THOOTHUKUDI: Following the arrest of the accused, the family of the 17-year-old girl, who was sexually assaulted and murdered at Vedanatham village on March 10, received her body from the Government Thoothukudi Medical College Hospital, where it was preserved after post-mortem examination, on Friday and cremated it.
The Class 12 girl went missing on March 10 evening and was found dead amidst bushes nearly 200 metres away from her house the next day. Her relatives and villages staged protests at various places in the district, with her family saying that they would not accept her body until the culprit was arrested.
The police on Thursday zeroed in on the accused, identified as M Dharma Muneeswaran (38) of Sayalkudi, a convict in a sexual assault case in Ettayapuram, who had secured bail. Villagers wore black badge while receiving the body.
Minister for Social Welfare and Women Empowerment Geetha Jeevan, Vilathikulam MLA Markandeyan and Kovilpatti MLA Kadambur C Raju, and functionaries of the BJP, TVK and the TMC visited Vedanatham and paid homage.
On Thursday night, the accused’s house, located at Rajapandi Nagar in Thoothukudi, was pelted with stones and vandalised by unidentified persons.