Police Delayed Probe: Family of Raped & Murdered Dalit Girl

Tamil Nadu Dalit girl’s family has moved the Madras High Court seeking a CB-CID probe in the case.

Ariyalur police found the decomposed body of a minor Dalit girl who was raped and murdered, allegedly by her estranged boyfriend and his three friends.

On 14 January, the Ariyalur police found the decomposed body of a minor Dalit girl who was raped and murdered, allegedly by her estranged boyfriend and his three friends, on 29 December 2016. Police had arrested four people in the case. But now, the girl’s family has moved the Madras High Court seeking a CB-CID probe in the case.

Speaking to The News Minute, the girl’s sister, Prema* said, “She had been abducted on 29 December 2016, and we had asked the Irumbulikurichi police station to file an abduction case, but they only filed a missing complaint.”

The girl’s friends had told the family that the she was in a relationship with a man named Manikandan.

(*name changed to protect identity)

We had informed the police about it and asked them to check if she was abducted by him, but the police did not investigate properly. If they had immediately started the investigation, my sister could have been saved.

Prema*, Girl’s sister

The family alleged that they had to run from pillar to post to get the investigation in the case started, she added.

We met the DSP and SP repeatedly to start the investigation in the case .

Prema*

The proper investigation started only after the girl’s body was found in a well, says Sasikumar, the family’s lawyer. An FIR was filed, and the police started their probe.

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The family suspects that one more person was involved in the rape and murder of the minor girl.

Rajasekar, the district secretary of Hindu Munnani, is also part of the crime. Manikandan was working with Rajasekhar, how can the crime happen without his knowledge? We have been told by many people in the village that he also knew about the crime in advance.

Prema*

While the Ariyalur police had earlier told TNM that there was no evidence against Rajasekar, which is why he was not arrested in the case, Sasikumar alleged that the police did not interrogate Rajasekar at all.

The family had raised doubts over Rajasekar being part of the crime, but the police never interrogated or questioned him. He has been part of other crimes in the past, like damaging churches and other cases, along with the other accused in this case.

Sasikumar, the family’s lawyer

The family has now demanded an immediate CB-CID investigation in the case.

If CB-CID investigates the case, then we will come to know clearly who all were involved in the murder.

Prema*

The 17-year-old girl was allegedly in a relationship with Manikandan, the prime accused in the case, for the last one year. They both developed a relationship when they were working together.

The girl was working as a daily wage labourer and Manikandan was working as a mason, the police said.

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While Manikandan belongs to the Vanniyar caste and was working as the union secretary of Hindu Munnani, the victim was a Dalit.

The sub-inspector of Irumbulikurichi police station had earlier told The News Minute, “On 26 December, she was kidnapped by Manikandan, the main accused. Three days later, she was raped by him and three of his friends, and then thrown into a well in Keezha Maligai village.”

He added that the girl was one-and-a-half months pregnant when she was killed. “She was pregnant and wanted to get married to Manikandan. But he wanted her to get the child aborted, which led him to murder the girl,” he said.

(The story was first appeared on The News Minute and has been republished with permission.)