Chennai

His mother was also arrested for not informing the police. In another incident, an 18-year-old youth was arrested along with his mother for marrying a 16-year-old girl in Royapuram.

In the first case, the accused, Desappan alias Lokesh of Kasipuram in Kasimedu, has several cases pending against him, including murders and extortion, said police.

Desappan, who goes on a pilgrimage to Sabarimala every year, allegedly developed a relationship with a minor girl in Madurai in 2018, when the girl was just 14. The girl was helping her grandmother in a shop outside the Meenakshi Amman temple, said police.

Six months ago, Desappan brought the girl to Chennai and made her stay with him.

Since he sexually assaulted the teen girl, she became pregnant. The incident came to light after the neighbours alerted the child welfare officials.

The officials reached Desappan’s house accompanied by police and investigation revealed that his mother Geetha also allowed the couple to stay together in the house.

Desappan and Geetha were arrested and remanded in judicial custody. The girl was rescued.

In the second incident, the accused S Chinna Thambi of Pudhumanai Kuppam wooed the minor girl from Tondiarpet, who was under her grandmother’s care.

In June alone, the city police have registered as many as 18 Pocso cases and in two incidents, the accused were none other than the victims’ fathers themselves.

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