5 held for gang-rape of minor girl in Thanjavur district

THANJAVUR: Police on Thursday arrested five people under Pocso Act on charges of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl in Thanjavur district. The accused were identified as P Sridharan, 24, M Srikanth, 21, R Abinesh, 21, S Aravinthan, 21, and S Raghul alias Kutti, 24, all daily wagers and friends.

Police said that Abinesh and the survivor were friends. On December 19, the girl received a call from a person who introduced himself as Abinesh who asked her to come over to a coconut grove near her house.

When she reached there, she saw Srikanth, Aravinthan and Sridharan but not Abinesh.

They introduced themselves and told her that they mimicked Abinesh's voice. They claimed that the idea was Abinesh's.

Sridharan forcibly took the girl to a secluded place in the grove and raped her. Srikanth too raped her even as Aravinthan recorded their acts on his mobile phone.

On coming to know about the incident, her parents contacted Child Helpline Number 1098 the next day. Based on the information, officials arrived at her house, recorded her statement and helped her to lodge a complaint.

Papanasam all-woman police registered a case against all the four men under various sections of Pocso Act and arrested them on Thursday.

The survivor was sent to the government hospital for medical examination.

Police later arrested the fifth accused Raghul to whom the video was shared by the accused on his request, police said.