Pollachi sexual assault case: Mahila Court finds all 9 accused guilty, sentenced to life imprisonment

Pollachi sexual assault case: All nine arrested have been held guilty of the sexual assualt of several women in Pollachi town, by the Mahila court in Coimbatore on May 13, according to a PTI report.

Pronouncing the judgement, Coimbatore Women's Court Judge Nandini Devi has sentenced the accused to life imprisonment till death, PTI reported citing the CBI counsel.

Further, the court has also ordered the convicts to pay a total compensation of ₹85 lakh to affected women

The case in Tamil Nadu's Pollachi in 2019, happened under the previous AIADMK regime, and shook the state. Among the arrested is an expelled AIADMK functionary, the report added.

What is the case?

All those facing the charges have been accused of criminal conspiracy, sexual harassment, rape, gang rape, and extortion, in the series of incidents including blackmail that happened between 2016 and 2018, PTI reported.

The victims were mostly college girls and the incident came to light after an affected student lodged a complaint with the police.

Pollachi Case: Who are the accused?

The nine accused in the Pollachi sexual assualt and gang rape case are identified as Thirunavukkarasu, Sabarirajan, Sathish, Vasanthakumar, Manivannan, Heranpal, Babu, Arulanandam, and Arunkumar, as per an ANI report.

Local police began investigating the matter, but it was transferred to the CB-CID; and later to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in 2019.

‘Highest Punishment’ Sought

Earlier today, speaking to reporters, Surendra Mohan, Special Public Prosecutor for the CBI said that the accused had sought leniency citing their youth and aged parents, but the agency has sought “highest punishment” for the accused — that of life imprisonment until death, the PTI report added.

The CBI has also sought compensation for the victims, he added.

As many as 48 witnesses were examined by the prosecution and none of them turned hostile. Further, electronic evidence played a crucial role in proving the charges as they were “scientifically proven”, he added.

(With inputs from Agencies)