Puducherry: Police arrested two youths, aged 25 and 27, on charges of sexually assaulting two minor girls after promising to marry, but later abandoning them in Puducherry. Police have also launched a hunt for four other individuals linked to the two minors, one aged 14 years and the other 15 years, on charges of sexually assaulting them over some time.
The issue came to light when the two girls, both school dropouts, went missing on April 2, and their parents lodged complaints with the police. A police team managed to trace them and opted to hand them over to their parents. However, the girls refused to accompany their parents and undergo a medical examination. They were sent to a government home for girls.
The following day, the girls agreed to undergo medical examinations after counselling. The examination revealed that the two girls were sexually assaulted. Upon inquiry, the girls admitted that they had an intimate relationship with their boyfriends, who promised to marry them, but later abandoned them.
“Both girls developed a relationship with other youths. Both girls ended up getting intimate with the two youths after they promised to marry them. However, when their male friends vanished from the scene, the girls decided to flee from their homes. Having departed on April 2, they were loitering at the Rock Beach, Pondy Marina Beach, and Chinna Mudaliyar Chavady Beach,” said investigation officer and Inspector K Dhanasekaran.
The two girls had embarked on foot after visiting Chinna Mudaliyar Chavady Beach, 5 km from the town. “A police team spotted them when they reached town limits and secured them. When we alerted their parents, they refused to go with them. Later inquiries revealed startling information. We booked the two youths – a fisherman and an AC mechanic – who sexually assaulted the minors, and arrested them. We have launched a search for four other men who sexually assaulted them,” said Dhanasekaran.
Police booked the accused under sections 6 (punishment for aggravated penetrative sexual assault), 10 (punishment for aggravated sexual assault), and 12 (punishment for sexual harassment) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, 2012, and began a detailed probe.