Girl drugged, sexually assaulted by car driver; family thrashes accused

TRIHY: A 16-year-old girl was allegedly drugged and sexually assaulted by a 43-year-old car driver in Trichy on Wednesday evening. The girl’s family members later beat the accused in retaliation.The victim is a girl who has two brothers and two sisters. One of her brothers had become a transwoman. On Wednesday, the girl had gone to Kalmanthai Colony to meet her transgender sibling, who resides there with other trans persons.According to police sources, S. Mariselvan, 43, a car driver from Thirupuvanam in Sivaganga district, had earlier arrived at the house in a car to drop off a trans woman named Bhakya.Around 5 pm, Mariselvan took the girl in the car for a tour. Mariselvan allegedly gave her a juice, after which she lost consciousness. Mariselvan then sexually assaulted her and later abandoned her unconscious on the roadside near Keeraikadai Bazaar around 6:30 pm.One of the girl’s sisters learned that she was lying unconscious near Keeraikadai Bazaar. She rushed to the spot, rescued her, and took her to Trichy Government Hospital for treatment.Learning that Mariselvan had sexually assaulted his sister, the girl’s other brother and his friends took the accused to Kalmanthai Colony and assaulted him. Mariselvan sustained injuries and was later admitted to Trichy Government Hospital. Later, the family members, relatives and public protested near the hospital and demanded strict action.Based on the complaint filed by the victim’s sister, a case has been registered at the Fort All Women Police Station under Section 87 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Sections 3 r/w 4 and 5(i) r/w 6 of the POCSO Act, and provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.As the investigation is in progress, Trichy City Police issued a rebuttal on Thursday to news reports claiming the victim was gang raped. They clarified that only Mariselvan was involved in the alleged assault and no gang sexual assault took place.