The National Commission for Women (NCW) on Wednesday took cognizance of the Pollachi sexual abuse case that has rocked Tamil Nadu. A letter addressed by NCW Chairperson Rekha Sharma to Tamil Nadu DGP TK Rajendran states, “The Commission is seriously concerned about the safety and security of women in the state of Tamil Nadu. Considering the gravity of the matter, it is requested that appropriate action be taken as per relevant provision of law against all of the accused and a detailed action taken report in the matter be sent to the Commission.”
The Commission said that it had come across news stories in various media organisations that several girls and women from schools and colleges had been sexually abused and were also blackmailed after they were filmed.
The NCW’s letter comes weeks after a Pollachi-based woman registered a complaint on February 24 with a local police station, alleging that four men -- Thirunavukkarasu, Sathish, Sabarirajan and Vasanthakumar -- sexually assaulted her in a car under the pretext of a friendly meeting on February 12. The men also shot videos of the survivor and later used it to blackmail and extort money from her, say the police. When the survivor confided in her family about the blackmail, her brother Subash* confronted the men about the crime, which soon escalated into a physical altercation. Subash went on to assault the four men.
Later, Subash lodged a complaint with the police. Three of the accused Sabarirajan, Vasanthakumar and Sathish were arrested on February 24, while Thirunavukkarasu was apprehended on March 5.
On Tuesday, the police also slapped the Goondas Act on the four accused. The probe into the case has since been handed over to the state CB-CID.
Police suspect that the accused could have been committing similar crimes against women for the past seven years. The police have also urged the public to come forward and file a complaint in the case.