In yet another incident of crime against women in Tamil Nadu, a 22-year-old Dalit woman in Virudhunagar district was allegedly raped repeatedly for months by eight people, which includes two DMK functionaries and four school students. All eight members accused of the crime have been arrested by the police.
The survivor is reportedly a Christian Dalit (Pallar) woman. The arrested persons have been identified as Junaith Ahamed (27), Hariharan (27), Praveen (21), Madasamy (37) and four other minor boys studying in Classes 10, 11 and 12. All of them hail from Virudhunagar.
The arrested Hariharan is a local DMK youth wing functionary who lured the 22-year-old woman into a relationship and took her to a secluded place, where he forced her to have sex with him. He filmed the same and circulated it among his friends. He and his friends reportedly threatened to share the video in internet and continued to exploit the girl sexually by blackmailing her. This Junaith Ahamed who is also a local DMK youth wing functionary and the four minor boys.
The accused had sexually abused the woman for several times over a period of one year.
A case has been registerd on charges of rape under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against all the eight people.
Hariharan, Junaith Ahamed, Praveen and Madasamy were produced before the Special Court and remanded in judicial custody. The four minor boys were produced before a magistrate and sent to a juvenile correction home.
The horrific crime bears striking similarity to the case that happened in Pollachi near Coimbatore where women were lured into relationships and sexually exploited by men. The issue gained lot of media traction with the then Opposition leader and DMK chief MK Stalin training his guns on the AIADMK.
While DMK MP Kanimozhi has tweeted condemning the incident, AIADMK spokesperson Kovai Sathyan has questioned why she has refrained from naming the accused who are functionaries of her party.
ஏன் @KanimozhiDMK அவர்களே குற்றம் புரிந்தவன் திமுகவை சேர்ந்த ஜூனத் அகமது.அதை சொல்ல தயங்குவது ஏன் இல்லை மறைப்பது ஏன்? இன்னும் கட்சியில் வைத்து அழகு பார்ப்பது ஏனோ? @arivalayam @AIADMKOfficial @AIADMKITWINGOFL #virudhunagar #பாலியல்திமுக https://t.co/mCWv27BnhE pic.twitter.com/y1Agrd1Q4k
— Kovai Sathyan (@KovaiSathyan) March 22, 2022
BJP Tamil Nadu spokesperson SG Suryah has questioned the silence of journalists who are treading lightly on the incident.
Brutal rape & torture of a Dalit women by DMK Leaders Junaith Ahamed, Hariharan & their minions in Virudhunagar is shameful & a blot to TN. She was filmed & repeatedly tortured by these DMK men.
Don't see journos otherwise active here talking about this? Ruling party pressure? https://t.co/EI7eF724MB
— SG Suryah (@SuryahSG) March 22, 2022
With inputs from sources, The Federal and The News Minute
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