A Fast Track Mahila Court in Srivilliputtur on Friday awarded life imprisonment to six accused after finding them guilty of sexual assault.
The case pertains to the abduction, assault, robbery and rape of a woman near Aruppukottai in Virudhunagar district on August 22, 2022.
The victim, a native of Aruppukottai, had gone to attend a family function around noon and on her way back met her friend near Palavanatham. They went to a temple in the locality.
While walking through the nearby field, a gang of seven persons intercepted them. Even before her friend could react, they assaulted him.
The victim was dragged into a car and driven to a nearby tank. The accused took turns to sexually assault her. Before fleeing, they assaulted her and robbed her gold jewellery. Two accused persons took photos of her and threatened to publish them if she lodged a complaint.
A special team led by the then Deputy Superintendent of Police Preethi followed specific clues and arrested Sreenivasan, Prabakaran, Vijay, Ramkumar and Jayakumar and Alagumurugan. Charge-sheet was filed within 60 days.
Lifer for six
Fast Track Mahila Court sessions judge M. Pushparani, who heard the case, sentenced the six accused persons to life imprisonment. Trial was being conducted separately against a juvenile who was also arrested in the case.
Inspector-General of Police Asra Garg, who then supervised the investigation, said the analysis of the CCTV footage collected from the vicinity of the crime scene and retrieval of the victim’s photographs that were deleted from the mobile phones of two accused persons, were crucial evidence to fix them in the case.
“Several reviews were conducted by senior officers, including DIG of Police Ponni and SP Manoharan during the course of investigation, which added to the robustness and admissibility of the unimpeachable evidence finally submitted before the court,” he said.
Published – November 30, 2025 09:35 pm IST
