COIMBATORE: A day after a 10-year-old girl was found dead near a lake at Kannampalayam in Coimbatore, the Sulur police on Saturday arrested two persons on charges of abduction, rape, and murder, after medical examination confirmed sexual assault of the child.
According to police, the main accused, K Karthi (33) of Nagapattinam, had lured the girl, sexually assaulted her and murdered her at a coconut grove near the lake.
The prime suspect, a daily-wage labourer residing on the outskirts of Coimbatore, suffered fractures to his right hand and leg when he allegedly jumped off a building to flee the police.
He is undergoing treatment at Coimbatore Medical College Hospital. The second accused, R Mohan (30) of Pallapalayam, was remanded in judicial custody. “We have cracked the case within 24 hours,” West Zone IG Ramya Bharathi said.
The girl, a Class 5 student of a government school, went missing while playing near her home around 5 pm on Thursday. Her parents lodged a complaint with the Sulur police around 8.30 pm the same day. Five police teams were formed to trace the girl, and her body was found on Friday.
Terming the incident “inhuman and unforgivable”, Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay assured stringent action against those responsible.
NCW seeks report within seven days
Vijay also instructed the police to file the chargesheet without delay. Police had initially registered a missing person case, but later altered it to murder and abduction. Pocso and rape charges were invoked after the doctors at the Government Medical College and ESI Hospital confirmed evidence of sexual assault after postmortem.
Addressing the media on Saturday, RV Ramya Bharathi, IG (West Zone), said that Karthi was hiding on the first floor of an apartment at Kannampalayam when the special team cornered him.
“Karthi confessed to the crime and said he had lured the child, sexually assaulted her, and murdered her in a coconut grove near Kannampalayam. The incident took place when the girl’s mother was at her house, and her father had gone for work,” she said.
During the investigation, police analysed 220 CCTV footages and obtained technical evidence confirming that the key suspect had taken the girl on a two-wheeler. Karthi, an acquaintance of the girl’s family, was living alone after getting separated from his wife and has no previous cases against him, the IG said, adding that the suspects were arrested within 24 hours of the crime.
Police said both Karthi and Mohan were booked for murder, under the Pocso Act, and various sections of the BNS. DGP Sandeep Rai Rathore inspected the crime spot and carried out an investigation.
Meanwhile, taking cognisance of the incident, the National Commission for Women on Saturday sought a detailed Action Taken Report from the TN DGP within seven days. It further directed the state authorities to conduct the investigation with utmost sensitivity and urgency.
