Chennai: A special court here on Monday pronounced the quantum of sentencing of 15 men convicted of sexually assaulting an 11-year-old hearing-impaired girl for seven months two years ago.
The men, aged between 25 and 66, were convicted under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POSCO) Act.
The court awarded life imprisonment until natural death for the four prime accused — Ravikumar (56), Suresh (32), Abhishek (28) and Palani (40).
Of the remaining 11 men, one Rajkumar (48) was sentenced to life imprisonment, while nine were given five-year jail terms and one man would have to serve seven years of prison term.
When the case first came to light, charges were brought against 17 men. However, one Babu (36) died in prison when the trial was underway and another Gunashekaran (55) was released due to lack of evidence against him.
The incident was reported in July 2018 when the victim narrated her ordeal to her elder sister who had come home for a holiday.
The elder sister then filed a complaint with police and stated that 17 people, working at the apartment complex where the victim was residing, had raped her for seven months between January and July that year.
The rapists were mainly working as security guards, plumbers and housekeeping staff in the complex. They used to mix sedatives in soft drinks and offer it to the victim and sexually assault her.
In September 2018, the accused were booked under sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 506(ii) (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sections 5 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault), 6 (punishment for aggravated penetrative sexual assault), 9 (aggravated sexual assault), 10 (punishment for aggravated penetrative sexual assault) and 12 (sexual harassment) of the POCSO Act, 2012.
At the time, Chennai Police Commissioner AK Vishwanathan had issued orders to detain all the 17 men under the Goondas Act to ensure that none of the men could obtain bail.
When the case was heard, state counselor Ramesh appealed to the judge to grant maximum punishment to the prime accused, Ravikumar, and three of his accomplices — Suresh, Abhishek and Palani.
(With inputs from S Annette Beryl Elizabeth)
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