After court rap, CBI registers FIRs in Pollachi case

The move comes a day after the accused were booked under IPC Section 376 (rape) by the CB-CID, after the fifth accused Manivannan admitted to having raped other women, along with the other four accused - Sabarirajan, Thirunavukkarasu, Satheesh and Vasanthakumar. However, the CBI registered a case against the four only under Sections 354A (sexual overtures), 354B (use of criminal force to woman with intent to disrobe) and 392 (robbery) of IPC, 66E (violation of privacy) of IT Act and Section 4 (harassment) of TN Prohibition of Harassment of Women’s Act, while Senthil, Manivannan, Babu and Vasanthakumar have been booked under Sections 341 (wrongful restraint), 294(b) (obscene language), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (hurt by dangerous weapons) and 506 (ii) (criminal intimidation).

Though the case was handed over to the CBI by the State in March itself, it did not initiate the probe on the pretext that the altered GO handing over the case to them without the victim’s name was yet to reach them. The Madras HC recently questioned the impasse for which the State replied that the CBI was yet to respond to their order. Based on this, the HC had sought a reply from the CBI before June 6.