A Class 12 student from Vedanatham village near Vilathikulam in Thoothukudi district stepped out of her home on the evening of 10 February 2026 to relieve herself in the fields because her village had no proper sanitation facility. She never came back.
Her family and neighbours searched through the night. The next morning, her body was found in a forested area near the village. Post-mortem confirmed she had been sexually assaulted and brutally murdered.
The Accused
The Kulathur police registered a case and formed 10 special teams, investigating from multiple angles and scrutinising CCTV footage from roads nearby. The trail led to Dharma Muneeswaaran (39) of Sayalkkudi, Ramanathapuram district. He was arrested, produced before court, and lodged in Palayamkottai Central Prison – later transferred overnight to Madurai Central Prison for security reasons.
Shekher Speaks — And Blames the Girl
As the case drew widespread outrage across Tamil Nadu, actor and DMK sympathiser S Ve Shekher took to a press interaction in Dindigul. What followed was not a demand for accountability from his own party’s government – it was a question directed at the murdered minor.
In his own words, as reported in OneIndia Tamil: “Regarding the Vilaathikulam girl, they say she was behind the bushes. Strongly condemn this. Why did she have to go to the bushes? The police can only install lights on the road. Can they install them inside the bushes?”
Here’s what he said entirely: “Sexual crimes in Tamil Nadu. When you think about sexual crimes, you need to think about both law & order and sexual crime together. If I leave my wardrobe unlocked at home and a thief comes and takes something — can I say law and order has failed? Every parent of girl children must keep their children safe. If a girl goes to the forest to use the bathroom, someone must accompany her as an escort. Because freedom is one thing, safety is another. We must first ensure safety.”
He added, “What is the total population of Tamil Nadu? 10 crore people. Of the sexual crimes you are talking about – have three happened? Maybe four? Think about it. When sexual offenders are immediately punished like a ‘shoot at sight’ order when police encounter them, immediately the human rights people come running. ‘How can you shoot him? He is a big rowdy, you should keep him in jail and feed him biryani.’ That is what they say, right? If a girl in your own family is harmed, won’t you want to immediately shoot that person? Lockup death is the same thing. Some police officers behave like animals. What do they do to them? They suspend them. They should not be suspended. They should be dismissed outright. Only after they go to court and prove their innocence should they be reinstated. The same laws that exist in the world exist for us too. But punishments differ. When punishments are very severe, crimes will reduce. Regardless of which government is in power.”
He continued, “But what are they doing? That girl went and hid herself behind a bush. Then they came and attacked her. Why did she have to go behind a bush? Think about it. The police should put lights everywhere immediately. Will the police put streetlights? Will they put lights inside bushes? I am asking this as a fair citizen. Forget about party politics. I have a mother, a wife, a daughter, a granddaughter. I am not speaking without understanding the value of girl children. The girl who works in our house – she must be 21 or 22 years old. We don’t even send her to the shop alone. Because we have a watchman. Even with a watchman, if she says ‘Sir, I’ll just go buy soap,’ I say ‘Tell me what soap you need, I’ll send someone to buy it.’ That’s the point, isn’t it? Take the watchman with you. We must provide safety to the women who have trusted us. How can police do everything? In Tamil Nadu, there is only one police officer for every 1,500 people.”
He then jumped to target the BJP. He said, “Do you know where the highest number of sexual crimes in India occur? In BJP-ruled states. If you want, you can use what Pandey himself, a BJP supporter said. Forget what I said. I myself left the BJP – because three parties expelled me and I thought let me at least make it look like I left one party on my own. And now there is a sexual harassment allegation against Karu Nagarajan. What can we do, tell me.”
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What Shekher Did Not Ask
The DMK has governed Tamil Nadu since 2021. Rural sanitation, specifically the construction of household toilets under the Swachh Bharat Mission, is a state implementation responsibility. The girl walked into the fields at night because her home had no toilet. That is not a police failure. That is a governance failure.
Shekher asked why she went into the bush. He did not ask:
- Why a village near Vilaathikulam still lacks basic toilet access under a government his party has run for four years
- Why there was no night patrolling in the area
- Why a predator was able to operate freely and has not yet faced trial
Instead, he blamed the victim for attending nature’s call.
S.Ve. Shekher is a DMK sympathiser who has been actively campaigning for the party. When he stands before cameras and asks “why did she go into the bush,” he is not raising a civic question – he is shielding his favourite party from the two questions that matter most: why did she have nowhere else to go, and why was she not safe when she got there?
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