COIMBATORE: The Nilgiris police on Wednesday denied handcuffing a 15-year-old girl, who is a Pocso case victim, while taking her to court.

Superintendent of Police P Sundaravadivel said the CCTV footage was scrutinised to confirm that the girl was not handcuffed.

“During an inquiry by a team led by Ooty DSP Yasodha, the girl denied being handcuffed. Only a criminal can be handcuffed, that too after permission from senior police officials. Victims will never be treated like this,” he said to the media. The SP also said the girl was shown the CCTV footage to prove that she was not handcuffed. “As she is a minor, the girl has been making contradictory claims,” he said.

Acting on information that the girl was married to a youth, the Ooty AWPS police rescued and sheltered the girl in a home. Meanwhile, the controversy broke out after the girl’s mother submitted a complaint in SP office on November 16 alleging that her daughter was handcuffed, while being taken by a woman cop to a court in Kotagiri.