CHENNAI: A 17-year-old Class 12 student was found beaten to death in a forest area near Kulathur in Vilathikulam taluk of Thoothukudi district, triggering protests by relatives and villagers.
According to a report in Daily Thanthi, the girl was the daughter of Subbaraj, a daily wage worker from Vedanatham North Street village near Kulathur. She was studying in Class 12 at Crossroads Government Higher Secondary School and was writing the ongoing public examinations.
The girl had reportedly gone to a forest area near her house around 6 pm but did not return home. Her father and relatives searched for her and later approached Kulathur police station to lodge a complaint.
Police there allegedly advised them to approach the Vilathikulam All Women Police Station, as the missing person was a minor girl. However, the family claimed the complaint was not received immediately there either, following which they returned to Kulathur police station and lodged the complaint.
Later, the girl was found dead in the forest area with injuries on her face and other parts of the body.
Kulathur police recovered the body and sent it to Thoothukudi Government Medical College Hospital for post-mortem examination.
Following the incident, relatives and villagers staged a road blockade near the Vedanatham bus stand on the Vilathikulam-Rameswaram road, demanding the immediate arrest of those responsible and action against police personnel for allegedly delaying the complaint.
Thoothukudi Superintendent of Police Madhan and Deputy Superintendent of Police Ramakrishnan reached the spot and held talks with protesters. Vilathikulam MLA Markandeyan also arrived and spoke to the villagers.
However, the protest continued past 8 pm, causing tension in the area.
