Pollachi rape: Copies of chargesheet issued to five

COIMBATORE: The chief judicial magistrate court in the city on Tuesday served the copies of the chargesheet to five accused in the Pollachi rape case and transferred the case to the principal district judge court for further trial proceedings.
The court also extended the remand period of the accused till February 11.
The accused, K Thirunavukkarasu, 26, of Makkinampatti near Pollachi, N Sabarirajan, 25, of Jothi Nagar at Pollachi, N Sathish, 29, of Suleeswaranpatti near Pollachi, T Vasanthakumar, of Pakkothipalayam, and R Manivannan, 30 of Aachipatti near Pollachi, were taken to the Salem central prison after the court proceeding.
On May 24, 2019, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a chargesheet (more than 1,000 pages) before the chief judicial magistrate (CJM) court in the case. The accused were booked under Section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code.
As the chief judicial magistrate court is not authorized to pass death sentence or life imprisonment exceeding seven years, the case was transferred to a sessions court.
The case was registered against the accused on February 24, 2019, for sexually assaulting a 19-year-old college student at Makkinampatti in Pollachi. On the next day, police arrested three accused and remanded them in judicial custody. Thirunavukkarasu went absconding and was arrested on March 5. The Pollachi Town police booked the accused under 354 (A) (punishment for sexual harassment) and 354 (B) of the Indian Penal Code, section 66 (E) of the IT act and section 4 of Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women (TNPHW) act.
The case was transferred to the crime-branch CID and police tried to arrest R Manivannan near Pollachi. However, he surrendered before the chief judicial magistrate court on March 25. During interrogation, Manivannan confessed that he along with other accused had raped a few more women. He also added that they had taken videos while they had intercourse. Subsequently, the CB-CID altered the case into a rape case on April 5.
Meanwhile, the district collector detained the four accused except Manivannan under Goondas Act. The accused were shifted from Coimbatore Central Prison to Salem Central Prison following a threat to their lives. The state government transferred the case from CB-CID to CBI.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault).