Former Nagercoil MLA Nanjil A Murugesan was arrested by the police from a farmland near Thisaiyanvilai in Kanniyakumari district on Wednesday for allegedly sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl in 2017. The police have also arrested four others including the mother of the girl. 

The three other men who were arrested on Tuesday were identified as Paul (66), Ashok Kumar (43) and Karthik (28). The three men are also accused of sexually assaulting the child on various occasions with the agreement of the mother.

Nanjil Murugesan (53) was the AIADMK Nagercoil MLA from 2011 to 2016.

The case came to light after the girl, who is now 15 years old, eloped with a 20-year-old youth in Nagercoil. The police filed charges under kidnap against the youth and recorded the girl’s statement.

The girl was also produced before the court, where she claimed that her mother was involved in an illicit affair with the legislator and that he sexually assaulted her in 2017.

The case was moved to the District Child Welfare Committee and the district child protection unit registered a complaint with the Nagercoil All Women police. A case was booked against the former legislator under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act based on the statement of the girl, said a report.

Immediately after a case was registered, the former MLA went into hiding. The police then formed five special teams and were on the lookout for him. The police finally arrested him from a farm near Thisaiyanvilai in Kanniyakumari district.

The police have booked a case under charges of sexual assault, showing pornographic content and rape, according to a report.

Murugesan, meanwhile, was removed from the primary membership of AIADMK party. Deputy Chief Minister O Pannerselvam and Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami ordered the expulsion of Nanjil Murugesan for ruining the image of the party.