HC reserves orders in appeals in Vachathi rape and assault case

CHENNAI: Three decades after the brutal Vachathi rape and assault incident, the Madras High Court had reserved orders in the batch of appeals preferred by convicts who were officers/staffers in the revenue, police, and forest departments.

The government servants were convicted for raping 18 women, assaulting men, killing cattle, and causing damages to the properties of the people in the tribal hamlet of Vachathi in Dharmapuri district on June 4, 1992. They went to the village to investigate the sandalwood smuggling case.

Justice P Velmurugan had reserved the orders and he further noted that he would travel to Vachathi – a tribal hamlet on March 4.

Earlier, the CBI which investigated the case had filed cases against 215 people including four IFS officers.

As many as 50 accused died during the course of the investigation. The remaining were sentenced to various types of punishment ranging from 1 year of simple imprisonment to ten years of rigorous jail term.

Therefore, the convicts filed appeals challenging their convictions. After a marathon of arguments advanced by advocates Gobinath, John Satyan, and Ramesh for the appellants, Justice Velmurugan reserved the judgment.