Tamil Nadu: 5 held for sexual assault, brand 14-yr-old girl with iron rod

In Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu, five people including a 16-year old boy were arrested for sexually assaulting and branding a minor girl near Thiruvaiyaru, police said on Wednesday.

Police added that the 14-year old girl was sexually assaulted by the boy from Kudithangi last week. The girl was a school dropout.

In the meantime, M Kannan (29) and his brother M Mahendran (35) from a nearby village, also accused the girl of stealing their mobile phone and tied her up to a tree and assaulted her, police said. Kannan also sexually harassed the minor, they added.

Apparently the torture didn’t end there. Police added that the brothers along with S Sivakumar and Vidhya, a woman from the area, branded the girl with an iron rod.

The girl somehow managed to escape and hid herself in a plantain grove. Later, she informed her father about the incident, who then admitted her to Thiruvaiyaru government hospital.

On Monday, the girl’s father had filed a complaint with the all-women police station in Thiruvaiyaru, following which the five were arrested.

Police registered the case under various sections of Indian Penal Code and under sections of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) Act.

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