Six held for rape and murder of 7-year-old in Coimbatore

Police sources here on Wednesday said that a seven-year-old girl, who went missing on Monday was found murdered near her house in Pannimadai area on Tuesday. Her hands and legs were tied and her body was found wrapped in a t-shirt.

The girl was a Class 1 student and was last seen when she was playing in front of her house on Monday evening. The family members lodged a missing complaint and launched a frantic search in the locality throughout the night. Her body was found 50 metres away from the house in the morning with injuries on her head. The police said that she was strangled to death.

Parents and relatives of the girl staged a protest in front of Coimbatore Medical College (CMC) since Tuesday afternoon where the body was brought for the autopsy. They demanded the police to arrest culprit immediately.

Traffic was thrown out of gear on Coimbatore-Ooty road due to the protest that extended for several hours. Vehicles were diverted through Pannimadai, Vadamadurai to reach Mettupalayam and proceed towards Ooty.

The family, along with the members of AIDWA, refused to receive the body until the culprits were nabbed. The protestors dispersed only after the police confirmed the arrest of six persons for inquiry. The family received the body after that.

The police said that 10 special teams have been formed for the investigation of the case. Meanwhile, the family of the victim petitioned District Collector K Rajamani demanding speedy action. The Collector assured that the investigation is in a preliminary stage, but on track and is satisfactory. “Crimes like this can’t be accepted and offenders will be dealt severely in accordance with law. I have spoken with senior police officials to speed up investigation in the case,” he said.

Parents of the girl, however, said that they were not satisfied with the investigation. “We have suspicion on five persons living near our house. The truth will come out only if they are taken into custody and inquired,” they said.

All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) district secretary Radhika said that safety and security of women and children continue to remain an issue due to such frequent incidents in Coimbatore.

“The girl’s death has come at a time when everyone is still grappling to get over the shock of Pollachi sex scandal. Similar offences can be curbed only by ensuring maximum punishment to the assaulters,” she said.

Meanwhile, the BJP Lok Sabha candidate CP Radhakrishnan and other political party leaders, including communist party leaders, visited the hospital and condoled the death of the girl.